Fundamentals and use of gas targets for improving the sensitivity of mass spectrometric methods

In mass spectrometric measuring systems gas targets may be used for improving the sensitivity by reducing the background spectrum to a minimum, or for highly sensitive structure analyses of organic compounds. Ultrasensitive mass spectrometers coupled with gas targets allow the determination of the isotopic abundance and of trace concentrations up to 10-15 g/g, requiring minimum amounts of geological, biological, or other samples. (author)