
Making Accurate Mass Measurements
Voyager
™
Biospectrometry
™
Workstation User’s Guide 6-25
6
6.4 Making Accurate
Mass Measurements
Overview
Accurate mass measurements are typically made by including
reference compounds (internal standards) in the same
spectrum as the analyte, and then recalibrating the spectrum.
In Reflector mode (Voyager-DE PRO and Voyager-DE STR),
internal calibration provides mass spectra with a mass
accuracy of 10 to 20 ppm routinely.
This section describes the factors that influence mass
accuracy at this level.
During
acquisition
When acquiring data, the following factors contribute to the
accuracy of mass measurements:
• Symmetrical peak shape—Depending on the m/z in
question, the spacing between data points can
represent a change in mass from 10 or 20 ppm to more
than 100 ppm. When determining the position of an ion
in terms of m/z, the software interpolates between data
points to make a mass assignment at the 10 ppm level.
Therefore, a skewed peak shape can have a strong
impact on the observed mass accuracy.
• Signal-to-noise ratio as high as possible without
skewing peak shape—Peak position can be affected
by noise. On Voyager instruments, avoid full scale
signals (64,000 counts) which may be saturated. To
avoid the saturation problem, accumulate spectra with
appropriate evaluation criteria. See “Setting spectrum
acceptance and laser adjustment criteria” on page 6-40
for more information.
• Signal intensity of reference and analyte peaks
above 1,000 counts—Signal intensity above
1,000 counts with a Shots/Spectrum setting of 50 or
greater ensures adequate peak statistics needed for
accurate assignment of peak position.
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