P044-0003
Experimental Coupling of a MEMS Gas Chromatograph and a Mass Spectrometer for Organic Analysis on Icy Ocean World Landers

Friday, 11 December 2020
Poster
Ryan Blase1, Mark Libardoni2, Greg Miller3, Kelly E Miller3, Charity M Phillips-Lander3, Hunter Waite Jr2, Hongbo Zhu4, Christopher R Glein3, Abhishek Ghosh4, Anandram Venkatasubramanian4, Xudong Fan5 and Katsuo Kurabayashi6, (1)Southwest Research Institute, Space Science and Engineering, San Antonio, TX, United States, (2)Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, United States, (3)Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States, (4)University of Michigan, Biomedical Engineering Department, Ann Arbor, United States, (5)University of Michigan, Biomedical Engineering Department, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, (6)University of Michigan, Mechanical Engineering Department, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Abstract:
A future Europa Lander mission, and other potential landed missions at icy worlds, requires a versatile instrument providing rich scientific information to search for biosignatures and determine habitability. Here, we present a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Gas Chromatograph (GC) coupled with the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration (MASPEX) for improved analysis of complex organic mixtures in space environments.

Organic compounds, C5 to C10 alkanes, were tested with the MEMS GC to investigate reproducibility (retention time) and column analytical performance. The MEMS GC was then coupled with MASPEX to investigate retention time reproducibility and mass spectrometric analysis and identification.

Retention time reproducibility of the MEMS GC showed % RSD values of ≤ 2% for all individual alkane injections and % RSD values of ≤ 1.5% for alkane mixture injections. Column analytical performance showed an average number of theoretical plates, N, per meter of 1,623 (max of 3,704) versus an average of 3,900 for commercial open tubular columns. MEMS GC-MS experiments showed similar retention time reproducibility with % RSD values ≤ 1.5%. Mass spectral identification was successful with alkane parent and fragment ion abundances closely resembling expected NIST reference mass spectra for electron ionization.

The results show that the MEMS GC is an extremely effective analytical tool and has a promising future as an in situ instrumental technique for planetary landed missions. The compact MEMS design provides significant size, weight, and power (SwAP) savings while maintaining similar analytical performance versus current state-of-the-art metal clad commercial GC columns. Coupling the MEMS GC with MASPEX, or other time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers, extends the analytical capabilities by implementing orthogonal modes of separation whereby a complex organic sample is first separated by the MEMS GC and then mass analyzed by the TOF mass spectrometer. These two modes of separation when used in tandem increase overall chemical identification capabilities.

The successful coupling of the MEMS GC and MASPEX provides a strong foundation for a new analytical tool in planetary science applications where separation of complex sample matrices is required to address fundamental science questions.

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