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A
company approached the mass spectrometry facility with a quality control
problem. The company was finding some batches of polymer performed
properly in their production process while other batches did not.
They needed to quickly analyze polymer batches before releasing them
for production purposes. The mass spec. facility developed a method
to analyze the polymer for suitability using matrix assisted laser
desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry.
The company provided the mass spectrometry facility with suitable
and unsuitable polymer. After obtaining MALDI mass spectra of
all the samples, the spectra were examined for any indication
why one polymer batch was acceptable but not another. The spectrum to the right is an example of a polymer. The major indicator of polymer suitability was the centroids of the polymer's distributions. When a polymer batch was compared against a standard, shifts of the centroids to lower mass did not affect the polymer's performance, but centroids shifting 500 u or more to higher masses indicated the polymer was unsuitable. Due to the company's continued use of the mass spec. facility,
and its need for rapid analysis of polymer batches, the mass spectrometry
facility provides same day analysis, thereby, providing the company
with a fast method of polymer quality control. |
