Direct SICRIT-MS analysis of chemical warfare agents

Chemical warfare agents analysis

Although chemical warfare agents (CWA) and their use are outlawed, they still are an imminent threat to people all over the world. Unfortunately, the high toxicity of these compounds makes it particularly difficult for analytical equipment, since the detection method has to be sensitive, fast and selective at the same time.

SICRIT enables the ultrasensitive and selective direct MS-based gas-phase detection of various CWA. The very soft ionization enables MS² experiments for highly sensitive and selective identification and quantification. Detection capabilities are as low as 0.01 ug/m3 to 0.33 ug/m3 on lab based instruments and 1.0 ug/m3 to 6.3 ug/m3 on the portable MS.

SICRIT CWA detection benefits:

• Direct gas phase detection of CWA (< 1s response time)
• Higher sensitivity (low ng/m3)
• Low power consumption
• Soft ionization for MS² or high resolution identification
• No consumables (noble gases, solvents, etc.)
• Miniature ion source and electronics