Hydrogen as a carrier gas in GC/MS is a low-cost, renewable gas suitable for several GC/MS applications. Hydrogen carried gas is commonly used as an alternative option to helium. Helium is a finite resource and this, alongside inefficient production, makes it expensive. The high price and recurring shortages have increased demand for applications using a hydrogen carrier gas.
The Agilent HydroInert Source is a GC/MS ion source that improves chromatographic performance when using hydrogen as carrier gas in GC/MS. It helps to avoid loss of sensitivity and spectral anomalies, while offering a high-boiler peak shape. The Agilent HydroInert source reduces the need for GC/MS ion source cleaning, decreasing system downtime and maintenance and resulting in fewer interruptions to data generation.
Chromatographic-quality stainless steel tubing and fittings are often recommended for hydrogen plumbing. Agilent offers a stainless steel install kit (19199S) to help prevent serious contamination problems.
Users can continue to use existing He-based mass spectral libraries and quantitative methods.
Features:
- Obtain the separation quality of helium, with faster, shorter separations using hydrogen as carrier gas
- Reduces loss of sensitivity and spectral anomalies
Retains the ability to analyze a calibration range of 0.1 to 100 µg/mL
- Knowledge transfer and method optimization service available for purchase and supported by Agilent CrossLab
- Spend less time cleaning – hydrogen significantly extends the ion source service interval, while replaceable components eliminate the need for manual cleaning.