ALMSCO International, a division of Markes International Ltd., has launched its TargetView Software package, which has been designed to automate and improve detection and measurement of multiple target chemicals in complex GC/MS data sets. The software will benefit GC/MS users in a range of important fields, including environmental monitoring, food/flavour/fragrance profiling, forensic science and testing chemical emissions from consumer goods.

While current compound identification methodology is often time consuming and prone to error (false positives/ negatives) even in expert hands, TargetView provides a simpler and more accurate way of identifying which target compounds are present in a sample. In addition to this it provides reliable peak area information to complement and support quantification by conventional GC/MS data handling packages. TargetView can also be used to identify the total number of compounds present in a sample (knowns and unknowns) by library searching.

Unlike alternative complex GC/MS software platforms, TargetView does not require a significant investment of time to become proficient. The interface and reporting format are easy to use with few parameters requiring manual setting and no need for in-depth knowledge in either deconvolution or chemometrics. Furthermore, the software package can process all common GC/MS data formats, thereby lending itself to simple integration with existing laboratory procedures. TargetView also works with chromatograms of worst-case complexity; e.g. with high numbers of analytes of varying concentrations and with high degrees of compound co-elution.

The new software package compares clean, deconvoluted mass spectral data against EI mass spectra in existing libraries (commercial or proprietary) using a sophisticated chemometric process. It can automatically detect hundreds of target compounds in one run and immediately generates a simple customisable report including details such as retention times, quantification ions, peak area values and match coefficients as required.

Tags: ALMSCO International