High throughput molecular weight confirmation of Pharmaceutical Compounds using DART MS analysis with ultra-fast polarity switching

DART, a direct atmospheric pressure ionization source, is known to have little or no negative effect from the solvent used to dissolve the sample. Even with problematic solvents for LC/MS operation such as non-volatile solvents or solvents containing salt, the target compounds can be instantly identified using DART-MS without any sample preparation. High-throughput MW confirmation of synthesized compounds is difficult to achieve using time of flight mass spectrometers, which have been a common choice to interface DART, due to its limitation in switching between positive and negative ion modes.
By combining an automated DART ion source with a quadrupole mass spectrometer with ultra-fast polarity switching capability, 11 different pharmaceutical compounds with various polarities were successfully determined in approximately 10 sec/sample.