Techniques and apparatus for an acquisition-stage peak width determination process are described. In one embodiment, for example, an apparatus may include at least one memory, and logic coupled to the at least one memory. The logic may be configured to implement an acquisition-stage peak width determination process operative to access acquisition-stage analytical information comprising at least one sequence of data points, determine a peak data point associated based on the peak data point meeting a plurality of acquisition-stage conditions, and determine the acquisition-stage peak width associated with the peak data point. Other embodiments are described.

A Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry system comprises: a chromatograph; a mass spectrometer configured to ionize separated fractions of a sample received from the chromatograph; and a programmable processor operable to repeatedly execute the steps of: (i) causing the mass spectrometer to perform a data-independent analysis of the precursor ion species using a mass analyzer of the mass spectrometer; (ii) calculating one or more degree-of-matching scores that relate to detection of an internal standard; and (iii) if each of the degree-of-matching scores meets a respective degree-of-matching condition, performing a quantitative tandem mass spectrometric analyses of both the internal standard and the analyte; the programmable processor further operable to calculate a quantity of the analyte in the sample by comparison between intensities of one or more mass spectral signals generated by the quantitative tandem mass spectrometric analyses of the analyte and the internal standard.

The detection of minute amounts of components that have been undetectable due to an influence of a mobile phase or reagents or the like added to the mobile phase is realized in LC-MS. At the outset, blank measurement is executed, and an m/z value M.sub.BG of a background signal derived from a mobile phase or the like is extracted on a mass spectrum obtained by the blank measurement (S2-S4). An analysis method is then created that executes scanning measurement in a plurality of divided m/z ranges in which the m/z value M.sub.BG of the background signal has been excluded from a predetermined m/z range. An LC/MS analysis of the target sample is executed according to the analysis method (S5-S6). When a total ion chromatogram (TIC) is created from data obtained by the LC/MS analysis, influence of the background signal hardly appears in the TIC, and the base line is lowered.

To reduce an arithmetic processing load or an influence of noise at the time of virtual curve calculation processing, provided is a data processing device for a chromatograph, which is configured to execute data processing based on plot data measured by using a chromatograph, the data processing device including a virtual curve calculation data generator configured to obtain a smaller number of pieces of virtual curve calculation data than a number of pieces of the measured plot data; and an arithmetic processor (163) functioning as a virtual curve calculator configured to obtain a virtual curve based on the virtual curve calculation data.

To reduce an arithmetic processing load or an influence of noise at the time of virtual curve calculation processing, provided is a data processing device for a chromatograph, which is configured to execute data processing based on plot data measured by using a chromatograph, the data processing device including a virtual curve calculation data generator configured to obtain a smaller number of pieces of virtual curve calculation data than a number of pieces of the measured plot data; and an arithmetic processor (163) functioning as a virtual curve calculator configured to obtain a virtual curve based on the virtual curve calculation data.

Wavelength spectrums of peaks detected on a chromatogram based on observation data to be processed are extracted to create a spectrum set {S.sub.n} in which the intensity values of the spectrums are normalized (S10, S11). One wavelength spectrum is selected from the set, and a vector of the wavelength spectrum at each point in time of measurement based on the observation data is projected so as to be perpendicular to the vector of the selected spectrum (S12 to S14). The vectors of the wavelength spectrums in the set {S.sub.n } are also similarly projected (S15). Consequently, the selected spectrum is erased from the set {S.sub.n}. The processes from S12 to S16 are repeated until the set {S.sub.n } does not include a spectrum, and the obtained signals are added (S17). The signal resulting from the addition is a signal indicating the waveform shape of an unknown baseline. A baseline spectrum is obtained by fitting the signal to a chromatogram at each wavelength obtained from the observation data, and a baseline signal at each wavelength is calculated from the baseline spectrum and the baseline chromatogram. As a result, a baseline can be automatically estimated without setting of a parameter and the like by a user.

A method to filter out pump pulses from data collected with a chromatography system is disclosed. Baseline data is collected as a pump delivers solvent to an analytical instrument, which may be the IP signal of a capillary bridge viscometer. A Fourier transform is applied to the data to generate the power spectrum of the baseline signal. Fundamental and harmonic frequencies are determined and a comb filter is constructed therefrom and applied to sample collected from all of the affected instruments. The comb filter may be correlated to the pump and flow rate and stored in data analysis software or database. Other systems using other pumps may also generate associated comb filters, and the resulting filters and the flow rates at which they were generated may be stored in a database accessible to the data analysis software.

The disclosure is directed to a system and method for control of at least one bioreactor, other cell cultivation-related equipment, and systems containing any combination of these in a plant. For example, a Plant-Wide Control System (PWCS) or a Process Control System (PCS) may be divided into three main components: hardware (including operating systems, such as a controller communicating with one or more servers of a network associated with the PWCS, (2) software (such as a control module) for performing control, and (3) one or more instrument control loops, which may be used by the software to maintain certain process values. Moreover, a Height Equivalent of a Theoretical Plate (HETP) value and an asymmetry factor may be determined based on real-time analysis on a chromatography column, using PWCS components.

The disclosure is directed to a system and method for control of at least one bioreactor, other cell cultivation-related equipment, and systems containing any combination of these in a plant. For example, a Plant-Wide Control System (PWCS) or a Process Control System (PCS) may be divided into three main components: hardware (including operating systems, such as a controller communicating with one or more servers of a network associated with the PWCS, (2) software (such as a control module) for performing control, and (3) one or more instrument control loops, which may be used by the software to maintain certain process values. Moreover, a Height Equivalent of a Theoretical Plate (HETP) value and an asymmetry factor may be determined based on real-time analysis on a chromatography column, using PWCS components.

The present invention is a method for automated mass-directed separation of two or more components from a sample, which method comprises defining a solvent gradient by its changing composition; subjecting said solvent gradient to mass spectrometry (MS) to generate gradient signal(s); passing a gradient including at least part(s) of the defined gradient across a packed chromatography column to which a sample has been applied; subjecting the eluent exiting said column to MS to generate sample signal(s); generating a spectrum by subtracting the gradient signals from the sample signals across a selected range of m/z values; and directing a fraction collector to collect fraction(s) each comprising a separated component based on the spectrum generated.