Staff

• Mr John Allen BSc
• Mr Gordon Lockhart
• Ms Anithahini Jeyasingham   BSc (Hons) University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.   MSc (Hons) University of Waikato, New Zealand

Mission Statement

• To provide a mass spectrometry service for all Institute of Advanced Studies and Faculty academics of the Australian National University
• To provide a limited mass spectrometry service for smaller higher education institutions
• To undertake collaborative research projects with members of the ANU and other higher education institutions
• To offer advice concerning various aspects of sample analysis related to mass spectrometry, and independent appraisals of MS techniques
• To utilise the full suite of mass spectrometry techniques available (see below) and remain abreast of new developments in the field of mass spectrometry

The ANU mass spectrometry facility is one of the best-equipped MS units in Australia. As can be seen below, there are instruments capable of handling almost any sample type, and tailored experiments can yield structural as well as compositional information.

Mass Spectrometers

• VG ZAB-2SEQ hybrid sector (BEqQ) MS
• VG AutoSpec M series sector (EBE) MS
• VG Quattro II triple quadrupole MS
• Micromass TofSpec-2e MALDI-TOF MS
• Micromass-Waters LC-ZMD single quadrupole liquid chromatograph-MS
• Agilent/HP 6890/5973 GC-MS
• Bruker Apex 4.7T FTICR-MS

So you'd like to submit a sample for analysis? Please read these guidelines....

Want to go through with it?
The sample submission form is available in   PDF format     or     MS Word format.
Charges apply to users outside ANU!

Agilent/Hewlett-Packard 6890-5973 GC-MS

The Agilent/HP 6890-5973 consists of a programmable oven (gas chromatograph, 6890) with split/splitless injection port coupled to a (5973) single quadrupole mass detector. Ions are formed by electron ionisation of the column eluent. This instrument is used for the separation of complex mixtures of (mostly) non-polar synthetic and natural compounds. A typical run consists of:

• injecting a small aliquot (1-2 microlitres) of sample dissolved in a non-polar solvent of known retention time
• vaporisation of the sample in the heated injection port
• diffusion of a small amount of sample vapour through a column mounted in the GC oven
• temporal separation of the sample fractions; the degree of separation (retention) depending on the shape/polarity of the constituent compounds and the degree of interaction with/affinity for the stationary phase
• passing the eluent stream through a heated interface to the MS detector, which scans continously (recording data) after a small solvent delay

In this way, it is possible to obtain pure EI spectra for each compound (fraction) contained in the sample, which may not be possible by simply heating the solids probe in a conventional scanning mass spectrometer. The choice of the column type (stationary phase nature), column length, gas (He) flow rate and programmed temperature gradients all play important roles in the separation process.

The 6890/5973 is chiefly used by the organic chemists of RSC, and occasionally the biochemists/biologists of RSBS. It was purchased in late 1999, and installed early 2000.

Visit the manufacturer's website

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