DART Direct Analysis in Real-Time
DART produces protonated molecular ions from organic molecules on, or close to a
surface. DART operates in atmospheric conditions and requires minimum sample preparation
and no specialist reagents. A gas supply is all that is necessary. After fitting the
DART to a mass spectrometer, spectra are produced within seconds with minimum
operator training.
DART was invented by Cody and Laramee at JEOL Inc in the USA. It uses metastable
helium atoms to ionise the sample. Because it is a very soft ionisation process,
only protonated molecular ions are formed with no fragmentation, so interpretation is simplified.
Identification and structures can be confirmed using either exact mass
measurement or MSMS.
The DART source
DART Features
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The simplest sampling procedure. Just hold the sample in front of the gas
stream and acquire spectra
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No sample preparation is necessary. Solids, liquids and vapours can be analysed
as seen
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No reagents or solvents are required. The only variable is the temperature of
the gas stream. Once the correct temperature is achieved, spectra are produced
instantaneously.
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there are no reagents, there are no background ions so everything
detected originates in the sample
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DART can be fitted to an extensive range of mass spectrometers including
ion-traps from Thermo-Finnigan, Agilent and Bruker and an extensive range of
triple quadrupoles including ABI
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New!! Automated Operation Click here for more information on the AutoDART.
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To date, DART has been used successfully to solve many real problems extremely rapidly.
Applications Include
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Competitive Analysis
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PAT
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QC of active ingredients
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Analysis of LC Fractions
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Forensics
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Polymers & Packaging
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Odour Investigations
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