Statement_of_Work_-_GC_ToF_MS.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

Gas Chromatography Quadrupole Time-of-Flight (GC/Q-TOF) Mass Spectrometer (MS) System coupled with Robotic Autosampler

I. BACKGROUND

National Institute of Standards & Technology (NISTs), Chemical Sciences Division (CSD) provides the measurement science, standards, technology, data and chemical informatics required to support the nation’s needs in the determination of chemical composition and chemical structure of gases, organic, and inorganic species and in the measurement of a wide variety of chemical properties and processes, including chemical reactivity and mechanisms, and thermochemical properties. To continue its mission, the group is requesting a GC/Q-TOF MS, coupled with Robotic Autosampler for identification of characteristic odors of hazardous materials, that are terrorist threats.

II. OBJECTIVES

Both the Gas Chromatograph and Q-TOF Mass Spectrometer must be manufactured, sold, and installed by a single vendor to provide a seamless integration between the GC and Q-TOF. The GC operating parameters must be available and controlled by the Q-TOF software. The acquisition software must seamlessly communicate between both GC and Q-TOF.

Both the Gas Chromatograph and Q-TOF Mass Spectrometer must be fully supported by a single vendor, to provide a seamless instrument diagnostic and repair, between the GC and Q-TOF.

III. SPECIFICATIONS:

The minimum requirements for the Gas Chromatograph system are as follows:

1. Shall have standard Split/Splitless Inlet and must be upgradable to MultiMode Inlet

2. Shall have standard at least 16-sample Autoinjector and upgradable to 150-sample Tray or add-on Headspace sampler

3. Shall be temperature programmable in the range ambient+4ºC to 450ºC

4. Shall have at least 20 ramp and 21 plateaus. Negative ramps are allowed.

5. Shall have auto pressure regulation for Split/Splitless Inlet to at least 0.001psi and septum purge

6. Shall have constant pressure/flow modes and programmable pressure/flow modes.

7. Shall be upgradable with Capillary Flow Technology devices for effluent splitting, backflushing and column switching.

8. Shall have standard, a 3 channel Electronic Pressure Controller (EPC) for the control of collision gas and backflush

The minimum requirements for the Mass Spectrometer are as follows:

1. Shall fit on a laboratory benchtop (not floor standing model)

2. Shall be a QTOF (Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer) with the first stage being a quadrupole mass selector.

3. Shall be able to detect 60 fg or less of OFN (octofluoronaphthalene) statistically derived at 99% confidence level from the area precision (<8% RSD) of 8 sequential splitless injections (ALS7693A) of 1μl, 1 pg/μl OFN, at m/z 271.9867

4. Shall have a mass resolution (width at half height) of >25,000 at m/z =271.9867 from a splitless injection of 1 pg OFN

5. Shall have an average mass error of <2 ppm RMS at m/z 271.9867 from 8 sequential splitless injections of 1 pg OFN

6. Shall include an Electron Ionization (EI) source for conventional (70 eV) and low energy operation

7. EI source shall include an on-axis filament

8. The electron energy shall be settable between 5-200 eV

9. Shall have a non-coated inert EI source

10. Shall be temperature programmable in the range from 100ºC to 350ºC.

11. The mass range and spectral acquisition range shall be at least m/z 20-3,000 (inclusive).

12. Shall have an electronic dynamic range of at least 105.

13. Shall have a spectral acquisition rate that is selectable from 1 to 50 spectra/sec

14. The spectral acquisition rate shall be independent of the mass resolving power

15. The TOF shall have a dual stage ion mirror

16. The Q-TOF shall have a monolithic hyperbolic quartz gold-plated quadrupole

17. The quadrupole shall have a temperature range that is selectable from 100ºC to 200ºC

18. The Q-TOF collision cell shall be a hexapole with a linear acceleration field along its axis

19. The Q-TOF collision cell shall use 4:1 helium: nitrogen gas mixture

20. The Q-TOF collision energy shall be selectable up to 60 eV

21. The Q-TOF detector shall be a Microchannel plate/scintillator/PMT that uses Analogue-to-Digital (ADC) electronics

22. The Q-TOF shall use ADC electronics - 160 Gbits/sec with dual gain amplifiers

23. The mass spectrometer shall have a fully automated tune and user selectable manual tune

24. The mass spectrometer shall have ion source and mass analyzer regions that are differentially pumped. Must use air-cooled turbo-molecular pumps with a single mechanical pump

25. Shall be able to collect two (2) GC detector signals while acquiring MS data.

26. The flight tube shall be made of an INVAR alloy (material with a low coefficient of expansion), this is to maximize TOF stability and reduce mass axis drift

27. The Q-TOF shall include Quick Vent functionality for ion source and GC column access. The ion source must be able to be cooled with a dry nitrogen purge for rapid cooling below 100 °C prior to removal. The complete time to cool, remove, replace and begin operation must be within 30 minutes from tuning conditions (temperatures)

28. The Q-TOF shall be able to recalibrate the mass axis during or between chromatographic runs

The minimum requirements for the autosampler are as follows:

1. Shall be a robotic autosampler capable of liquid injection, head space analysis, and solid-phase microextraction (SPME)

2. Shall have seamless software compatibility with robotic sampling system

3. The Autosampler shall be a robotic device that can perform the following analytical techniques: liquid injection, head space (HS), and solid phase micro extraction (SPME).

4. The Autosampler shall be a dual-head device to provide optimum combination of functions in automated sequences and duplicate functionality of a GC/MS system.

5. Both 2-mL and 20-mL vials shall be accommodated; the tray for 2-mL vials shall be able to be cooled.

6. Three tools to perform SPME (solid-phase micro-extraction) shall be included, along with the ability for the system to automatically change between tools, enabling use of multiple SPME fiber chemistries for a single sample set without operator interaction.

7. An agitator/stirrer device shall be included for collection of head-space samples.

8. Shall include a device for head-space and SPME sampling directly from 1-gallon paint cans.

The minimum requirements for the data system, are as follows:

1. Must include a desktop computer from a reputable brand.

2. The Operating System shall be Windows 7 (64 bit) or better

3. shall include two 21.5+” monitors

4. Shall include a Laserjet printer

5. Shall include a 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) connection for MS data

6. Shall include Solid State Drive (SSD) for Operating System and program software

7. Shall include 4x1 TB hard drives in RAID configuration for MS data storage

8. Shall have an integrated retention time-locking module for analyzing target compounds in complex matrices. The software module must provide the creation of custom compound databases as well as the utilization of vendor provided databases.

9. Shall have ONE-click autotune for specific tune criteria

10. Shall be compatible with NIST Libraries, which include spectra with names and chemical structures, Kovats retention indices, accurate mass information for both molecular ions and product ions, MS/MS Spectra Lib, and NIST search & AMDIS programs.

11. Data format shall be compatible to advanced statistical package, MssProfiler Professional.

12. Shall have a unified software platform for data acquisition and data analysis.

13. Shall have seamless communication with a Gerstel Multipurpose Sampler for Sample Preparation Automation

14. Shall have the ability to create accurate mass libraries

Delivery and Installation

Delivery of instrument shall be 90 days after award. Within 10 days after delivery, the contractor shall install the instrument at the NIST, Gaithersburg, MD campus. Installation for the GC/Q-TOF MS system shall include, at minimum, uncrating/unpacking of all equipment, set-up, and hook-up of all equipment, start-up, demonstration of specifications, and removal of all trash. Installation date will be coordinated with the NIST Technical Point of Contact.

Training

The contractor shall provide separate training, for at least one-day for both the mass spectrometer and autosampler instruments for NIST personnel.

IV. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA & PAYMENT

The GC/Q-TOF MS System will be completely installed and must function according to manufacturer’s specifications. The operation manual will describe procedures for operating and maintaining the system. The NIST TPOC will review deliverables, and determine if these criteria are met. The contractor may invoice in one lump sum after all required items have been accepted by the Government. Partial payments are not authorized. Advance payment is not authorized.