Patent ID: 7211793

Claim:
A mass spectrometry system for analyzing components of a gas, said system comprising: a mass spectrometer adapted to analyze components of the gas; an elongate inlet capillary fluidically connected to said mass spectrometer to convey a sample of the gas into said mass spectrometer, said inlet capillary including an inner bore that defines a bore wall within said inlet capillary, said bore wall having a catalytic coating thereon that reacts with at least one component of the sampled gas to convert said at least one component to another gas species that is a different gas than said at least one component, but is directly correlated to said at least one component, as the sampled gas is conveyed within said inner bore of said inlet capillary having said catalytic coating; and a heater positioned on an outer wall of said inlet capillary which heats said catalytic coating to a temperature not more than approximately 310° C.; wherein said mass spectrometer analyzes said another gas species to derive information associated with said at least one component of the gas, the analysis including analyzing the gas for presence of said another gas species to establish a baseline.