About Us

1^st Detect Corporation has developed a revolutionary chemical detector based on an ion trap mass spectrometer. 1^st Detect's Miniature Chemical Detector (MCD) proprietary ion trap technology leverages technology from the space program which allows for the device's portability, versatility, sensitivity, durability, high speed and low cost.

In an ion trap mass spectrometer, ions are contained within a defined location (the ‘trap’) by the use of RF electric fields. Ions are then sequentially ejected by adjusting this field in a controlled manner and a mass spectrum is generated by measuring these ejected ions on a detector. The resulting mass spectrum provides a unique identifier or ‘fingerprint’ that allows the 1^st Detect MCD to unambiguously detect and identify a wide variety of chemicals.