LECO Africa high-resolution-mass-spectrometry posts (Page 1 of 2)

Sustainability is on everybody’s mind these days. Companies want to create products that are better for the environment and consume fewer resources. Unilever is no exception. This forward-thinking flavor company has recently been pushing to develop new and delicious plant-based protein substitutes that are more sustainable than meat-based protein but no less healthy (or, preferably, even more healthy!). However, as Unilever scientists Hans-Gerd Janssen and Ed Rosing explain, nature made a pretty delicious protein in the form of meat, with a very distinct flavor and mouth-feel. Creating a substitute isn’t easy.

The first Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass spectrometer was proposed in 1946, and the design has been refined and iterated upon ever since. With an unlimited mass range visible in each spectrum and a high spectral generation speed, the advantages of TOF mass spectrometry were immediately clear. Though the instruments improved, they did eventually hit physical limitations that restricted the resolving power. More work had to be done.