
Consumer Goods
SIFT-MS overcomes the inaccuracies and time-consuming steps associated with using chromatography-based methods to screen for contaminants in consumer goods. Faster time to data and higher throughput can be achieved in consumer safety applications such as testing for carcinogens in personal care products (PCPs), mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH and MOAH) in food products, and volatile leachables in packaging and polymers.
Real-Time, Sensitive Detection of Volatile Impurities in Personal Care Products, Food, Packaging and Raw Materials
Chromatography-based methods provide incomplete solutions for quickly screening consumer goods for volatile impurities due to their need for extensive sample prep, specialized columns, long run times, and data complexity. SIFT-MS delivers chromatography-free, real-time detection of trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in products, food, packaging, and raw materials. No sample prep is required, and multiple, diverse analyses can be run back-to-back by non-experts without the need for column changeover. Data output is instant and easy to interpret. SIFT-MS enables you to make critical process decisions sooner with higher confidence in the accuracy of your results.
Consumer Goods applications and use cases
Personal Care Product Testing
SIFT-MS provides rapid, sensitive, and selective analysis of benzene and other contaminants in a wide array of commercial products. Integration with a headspace autosampler enables rapid screening of hundreds of samples per day.
Read MoreConsumer Packaging Testing
SIFT-MS revolutionizes packaging testing with its ability to instantly detect a very wide range of volatile compounds. It provides broad spectrum, quantitative analysis of volatile leachables in paper, paperboard, and cardboard products in a single procedure. No derivatization or pre-concentration is required for high-throughput analysis!
Read MoreVOC Emissions
SIFT-MS facilitates real-time, thorough evaluation of volatile compound emissions from materials. High-sensitivity, broad-spectrum analysis readily detects impurities in materials and coatings that could impact product safety and/or consumer perception.
Read MoreSyft is your answer in consumer product safety testing
Industry Issue
Benzene toxicity in humans has been well established for over 120 years. The FDA has determined that benzene should not be used in standard pharmaceutical production because of its unacceptable toxicity; however, FDA guidance can be confused with emergency limits that do not apply to cosmetic products like dry shampoos. In a safety study published in November 2022 by independent analytical lab Valisure, GC-MS was initially employed to screen 148 unique batches from 34 different brands of dry shampoo. Significant variability was seen in the results due in large part to the associated sample preparation process. Sample preparation leaves the potential for some benzene to escape detection, especially when attempting to sample a gaseous aerosol product. Therefore, there is potential to underestimate the amount of contamination when using GC-MS systems.Competitive Benefit
SIFT-MS systems eliminate the need for sample preparation, thereby enabling quantitative analysis of spray from dry shampoo directly. This allows the investigation of real-world conditions and the potential risks consumers are exposed to with contaminated aerosol products. SIFT-MS directly analyzes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and inorganic gasses in the air with trace-level sensitivity. It is also ideally suited for mobile lab environments that simulate consumer product use cases.Industry Impact
SIFT-MS detected benzene concentrations as high as 340 ppm, or 170 times the FDA’s conditionally restricted limit and 10-50X higher than Valisure detected using GC-MS approaches. In response to the full FDA Citizen Petition on Dry Shampoo, a voluntary recall was issued on a number of commercially available dry shampoos.Consumer Goods Resources


Direct MS Simplifies Analysis of Challenging Compounds
Routine Analysis 4: Direct MS Simplifies Analysis of Challenging Compounds

Analysis of Volatile Emissions from Polymers and Paperboard


An Evaluation of SIFT-MS for Instrument-Based Sensory Analysis: A Packaging Case Study

High-Throughput Analysis of Volatiles in Air, Polymers, Water and Soil, with SIFT-MS

Routine Analysis 2: Routine Lab Procedures Are Easy to Apply to Direct MS

Simple Determination of Formaldehyde Adsorption by Merino Wool, Using SIFT-MS
Formaldehyde is ubiquitous in the modern built environment, but it is also carcinogenic and so it is desirable to reduce chronic exposure in homes and workplaces. This study demonstrates the ease with which construction materials can be evaluated for their formaldehyde adsorption efficacy, by utilizing direct analysis with selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS). With this
approach, merino wool is shown to be extremely effective in adsorbing formaldehyde from air.

Syft App Talks #20. Fast and Simple: Quantifying Formaldehyde Adsorption by Merino Wools

Syft App Talks #17. Time-Resolved Thermal Extraction of Volatiles from Plastic Materials using TD-SIFT-MS

The SIFT-MS Automation Series: Episode 6 SIFT-MS Automation Past, Present and Future
Dr Perkins takes us through the attributes that make automated SIFT-MS an excellent tool for routine and R&D laboratories.

The SIFT-MS Automation Series: Episode 5 Continuous Headspace Analysis… and Beyond and R&D laboratories.
Dr Perkins takes us through the attributes that make automated SIFT-MS an excellent tool for routine and R&D laboratories.

The SIFT-MS Automation Series: Episode 4 Calibration Approaches for Automated SIFT-MS

The SIFT-MS Automation Series, Episode 3: Advanced Headspace Methods with SIFT-MS

The SIFT-MS Automation Series, Episode 2: Accelerate Static Headspace Analysis with SIFT-MS

The SIFT-MS Automation Series, Episode 1: Why Automate Analysis?
SIMPLE, RAPID ANALYSIS OF PACKAGING FOR VOLATILE MOSH AND MOAH CONTAMINANTS
Headspace-SIFT-MS can screen over 220 samples per day for volatile MOSH and MOAH compounds – nearly seven-fold more samples than the routine liquid and gas chromatography method.
A Sensory Expert Shares His Experience with SIFT-MS
We asked Mike McGinley, President, St. Croix Sensory, Inc. about his experience using SIFT-MS. Hear what he had to say about the speed of analysis and flexibility inherent to Syft's product solutions.
High-Throughput, Quantitative Analysis of Benzene in Personal Care Products using Headspace-SIFT-MS
SIFT-MS provides rapid, sensitive, and robust analysis of benzene and other contaminants in a wide array of commercial products. Integration with a headspace autosampler enables rapid screening of hundreds of samples per day.
A Consumer Safety Expert Shares His Experience with SIFT-MS
We asked David Light, CEO and Founder of Valisure, about his experience using SIFT-MS and how it impacted their dry shampoo safety study.
High Throughput Screening of Recycled HDPE Pellets Using Untargeted Headspace-SIFT-MS-Analysis
Automated headspace-SIFT-MS analysis can classify pelleted recycled HDPE at throughputs over 230 samples per day, offering great potential for rapid screening of recycled packaging materials.
Rapid Screening of Paperboard For Volatile Leachables Using Static Headspace-SIFT-MS
Automated SIFT-MS analysis rapidly screens paperboard packaging for a wide range of functional groups in a single analysis, assuring that the volatile emissions meet manufacturer specifications. This application note describes a Headspace-SIFT-MS method with throughput >10X faster than traditional GC/MS methods.
Rapid, Quantitative Analysis of Volatile Aldehyde Impurities In Paperboard Using Multiple Headspace Extraction
Quantitative determination of volatile aldehyde residues in paperboard is readily achieved using multiple headspace extraction-SIFT-MS analysis, with an eight-fold throughput increase over the equivalent conventional analysis.
Rapid Odor Screening of Paperboard Using Static Headspace-SIFT-MS
Automated SIFT-MS analysis coupled with multivariate statistical analysis provides rapid sensory screening of paperboard packaging, overcoming the low sample throughput of sensory panels. The ability to use HS-SIFT-MS to achieve throughput of 12 samples per hour is demonstrated.

Rapid, Simplified Residual Solvent and Volatile Impurity Analysis Using SIFT-MS
SIFT-MS provides real-time, selective, and economic analysis of challenging volatile compounds, such as residual solvents, formaldehyde, dimethylamine, and NDMA without requiring derivatization or other special handling.

High-Throughput Analysis of Volatile Impurities in Sustainable Packaging using SIFT-MS
Pharmaceutical and food products are susceptible to contamination from packaging, whether from polymeric materials, printing inks, or paperboard. SIFT-MS, a high-sensitivity direct-injection mass spectrometry technique, enables risks associated with sustainable packaging alternatives to be mitigated through economical, high-throughput automated analysis (typically a 4- to 15-fold increase over GC-MS).
High-Throughput Quantitative Analysis of Residual Monomer by Using MHE-SIFT-MS to Calibrate Single Headspace Injections
MHE-SIFT-MS provides rapid, matrix-independent, quantitative determination of volatile leachables in polymers and calibrates quantitative analysis based on single headspace injections. This approach enables over 200 samples per day to be analyzed, delivering rapid and economic analysis of volatile leachables such as residual monomers.
Syft Tracer: The Next Generation of Volatile Impurities Analysis for Enhanced Workflows
This app note introduces the next generation of SIFT-MS, Syft TracerTM, which launched at Pittcon 2023. It revolutionizes volatile impurities analysis workflows through unparalleled speed, performance stability, and reproducibility. Learn about how this innovation to real-time trace gas detection outpaces chromatography-based methods in the analysis of challenging analytes such as formaldehyde in a PEG excipient.
Head to Head Comparison of Class 2A And 2B Residual Solvents Analysis Using Sift-MS And GC-FID
This application note describes head-to-head comparison of GC-FID and SIFT-MS analyses of Class 2A and 2B residual solvents. The techniques perform similarly for linearity and repeatability, but SIFT-MS provides superior performance for accuracy and recovery. Furthermore, SIFT-MS provides greater than 11-fold increase in sample throughput and significantly reduces the time taken to report quantitative results (over six times faster for a full calibration set).
Recent developments and applications of selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT‐MS)
SIFT‐MS is now recognized as the most versatile analytical technique for the identification and quantification of trace gases down to the parts‐per‐trillion by volume, pptv, range. This statement is supported by the wide reach of its applications, from real‐time analysis, obviating sample collection of very humid exhaled breath, to its adoption in industrial scenarios for air quality monitoring. This review touches on the recent extensions to the underpinning ion chemistry kinetics library and the alternative challenge of using nitrogen carrier gas instead of helium.
SIFT-MS: Quantifying the Volatiles You Smell . . . and the Toxics You Don’t
SIFT-MS has been widely applied to quantitative analysis of a broad range of VOCs in applications from food products to workplace safety to environmental monitoring, and most recently to pharmaceutical testing. This review surveys the applications of SIFT-MS in odor analysis and in workplace, environmental and consumer protection, with a particular focus on the complementarity of this real-time mass spectrometry analyzer to sensor technology and conventional laboratory techniques—in particular, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

The Latest Innovation of Real-Time, High-Throughput Volatile Impurities Analysis by SIFT-MS
Join us for this webinar to learn about Syft Tracer, the latest advancement of real-time, trace gas analysis by SIFT-MS which launched at Pittcon 2023. Hear how the recent product innovations unlock analytical bottlenecks and enable faster decisions to be made in critical process steps.
Syft Tracer Brochure
Syft TracerTM is the latest advancement in real-time, direct injection mass spectrometry (MS) built to solve the most difficult analytical challenges faced within a variety of industries and applications. This advancement to SIFT-MS delivers trace-level detection sensitivity, unparalleled performance stability, superior selectivity, and highly reproducible, quantitative data. Syft Tracer is optimized for high-throughput environments where continuous operation is the standard. Never miss a product or environmental contamination event again.
Even Faster Quantitation Of Formaldehyde In Gelucire Excipient
This application note describes how the efficiency of a MHE workflow can be significantly improved for MHE-SIFT-MS due to the stability of the technique. Formaldehyde impurity is analyzed easily and quantitatively in Gelucire excipient with this improved approach. The time-to-result is reduced to 85 minutes for this system – six-fold faster than the conventional MHE-SIFT-MS approach. Quantitative analysis is achieved at the throughput of 220 samples/day.
Revolutionary Productivity For Volatile Residue and Impurity Analysis
This application note describes a scenario in which Syft TracerTM replaces five chromatography systems and still has significant available sample capacity. SIFT-MS provides rapid, chromatography-free analysis that revolutionizes multiple workflows.
High Throughput SIFT-MS Analysis of Formaldehyde in Fragrances Using the Method of Standard Additions
This application note describes high throughput analysis of formaldehyde in fragrances that utilizes a method of standard additions to overcome matrix effects from variable headspace compositions of the samples tested. SIFT-MS delivers >2X faster time to data with up to 5X greater throughput than chromatographic methods.
Application Brief: Revolutionary Workflows for Volatile Impurities Analysis
This application brief summarizes a scenario relevant to contract research organization (CRO) and contract drug manufacturing organization (CDMO) laboratories where multiple volatile impurity methods need to be conducted in short runs. Five analyses are considered that can be handled by one Syft Tracer but require multiple legacy, chromatography instruments. For these analyses, SIFT-MS reports the first quantitative results 2- to 12-fold faster, and has sample throughputs 3- to 17-fold higher than the conventional procedures.
Headspace-SIFT-MS: Flexibility that Revolutionizes Workflows for Diverse Samples
The characteristic flexibility, stability, high throughput, and fast time to data of the Syft Tracer next-gen SIFT-MS instrument apply across multiple headspace approaches for diverse matrices. This application note briefly summarizes the use of (1) dissolution, (2) multiple headspace extraction (MHE), and (3) the method of standard additions, then provides a guide for identifying the appropriate headspace approach for various matrices.

Revolutionizing Workflows for Residual Solvents and Volatile Impurities Analyses by SIFT-MS
This webinar demonstrates how the new, automated Syft TracerTM SIFT-MS platform provides a comprehensive solution to workflow challenges and can replace multiple chromatographic systems. Learn about how combining SIFT-MS with automation provides a very flexible and high throughput solution for screening volatile impurities in pharmaceutical and consumer safety applications, revolutionizing workflows.
Rapid Sensory Analysis of Paper Packaging Using SIFT-MS
This application note demonstrates that SIFT-MS effectively classifies paper samples by odor intensity rating and odor descriptor, in addition to distinguishing paper composition and mill of origin. When integrated with autosamplers, SIFT-MS provides throughputs of over 220 samples per day, supporting significantly enhanced quality assurance compared to conventional human sensory panels and gas chromatography-based analyses.
Pharmaceutical Residual Solvent Analysis: A Comparison of GC-FID and SIFT-MS Performance
This study expands upon the previous work by conducting a head-to-head comparison of GC-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and SIFT-MS procedures. SIFT-MS analyzed samples over 11-fold faster than GC-FID, increasing daily sample throughput and reducing the time taken to determine the result. The results suggests that residual solvent analysis using SIFT-MS may support workflow improvements for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Revolutionizing Volatile Impurities Analysis Through Next Gen SIFT-MS
This E-book describes how next gen SIFT-MS enables rapid, continuous screening of toxic volatile impurities in pharmaceutical and consumer products. This advancement to SIFT-MS delivers trace-level detection sensitivity, unparalleled performance stability, superior selectivity, and highly reproducible, quantitative data. Never miss a contamination event again.