Recommendation of a standard format for data sets from GC/IMS with sensor-controlled sampling

The harmonization of data formats is always under discussion, especially with respect to the increasing application of ion mobility spectrometry in metabolomics and different other life sciences. To organise the exchange between different types of ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) using various pre-separation techniques [gas-chromatography (GC), e.g. multi-capillary columns (MCC)] applied and several sensors for a controlled sampling and to start a uniform visualisation procedure, a data format is recommended with respect to further use in data acquisition, visualisation, peak finding, signal comparison and data mining. Although the format is optimised for MCC/IMS and GC/IMS with sampling control by CO 2 or flow sensors for breath analysis, its flexibility is ensured by the possibility of version-controlled modifications. The data format proposed will be described in detail.