Polymer analysis apparatus and method

1 . A polymer analysis apparatus comprising:

at least one processor configured to:

perform mass spectrometry on a first polymer and a second polymer to acquire a first mass spectrum of the first polymer and a second mass spectrum of the second polymer;

process the first mass spectrum of the first polymer and the second mass spectrum of the second polymer, wherein the second polymer comprises a non-primary-chain segment which is identical to a non-primary-chain segment of the first polymer and a primary-chain segment that is different than a primary-chain segment of the first polymer;

calculate at least one mass candidate for the non-primary-chain segment based on a first polymer molecule mass and a first repeating unit mass identified from the first mass spectrum by repeating subtraction of the first repeating unit mass from the first polymer molecule mass;

apply Kendrick Mass Defect (KMD) analysis on the at least one mass candidate using the first repeating unit mass to produce a first KMD analysis result;

apply KMD analysis on the second mass spectrum using a second repeating unit mass identified from the second mass spectrum to produce a second KMD analysis result; and

produce an image for identifying a mass of the non-primary-chain segment based on the first KMD analysis result and the second KMD analysis result.

2 . The polymer analysis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one processor is further configured to:

produce a plot representing the second KMD analysis result; and

produce a reference image representing the first KMD analysis result, which is to be added to the plot.

3 . The polymer analysis apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein

the plot includes at least one of an NKM-KMD plot having a Nominal Kendrick Mass (NKM) axis and a KMD axis, or an RKM-KMD plot having a Remainder of Kendrick Mass (RKM) axis and the KMD axis.

4 . The polymer analysis apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein

the at least one processor is further configured to calculate a plurality of mass candidates for the non-primary-chain segment, and

the reference image includes at least one of a first reference image including a plurality of figures representing a plurality of KMDs calculated from the plurality of mass candidates and displayed on the NKM-KMD plot, or a second reference image including a plurality of figures representing a plurality of sets of RKM-KMDs calculated from the plurality of mass candidates and displayed on the RKM-KMD plot.

5 . The polymer analysis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one processor is further configured to: determine, when a remaining mass after subtraction belongs in a mass range which is designated, the remaining mass as a mass candidate.

6 . The polymer analysis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one processor is further configured to: repeat calculation of a degree of polymerization along with repetition of the subtraction, to thereby create a list in which the plurality of mass candidates and a plurality of degrees of polymerization corresponding thereto are registered.

7 . The polymer analysis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one processor is further configured to: calculate a total ionic strength for each calculated KMD based on the second mass spectrum, to thereby create a graph representing a plurality of total ionic strengths corresponding to a plurality of KMDs.

8 . The polymer analysis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

one of the first polymer and the second polymer is a polymer before derivatization, and

the other of the first polymer and the second polymer is a polymer after derivatization.

9 . A computer-implemented method of analyzing a polymer, comprising:

performing mass spectrometry on a first polymer and a second polymer to acquire a first mass spectrum of the first polymer and a second mass spectrum of the second polymer;

calculating, based on a first polymer molecule mass and a first repeating unit mass identified from the first mass spectrum of the first polymer, at least one mass candidate for a non-primary-chain segment of the first polymer by repeating subtraction of the first repeating unit mass from the first polymer molecule mass;

applying Kendrick Mass Defect (KMD) analysis on the at least one mass candidate using the first repeating unit mass to produce a first KMD analysis result;

applying KMD analysis on the second mass spectrum of the second polymer having a non-primary-chain segment which is identical to the non-primary-chain segment of the first polymer, using a second repeating unit mass identified from the second mass spectrum to produce a second KMD analysis result; and

producing an image for identifying a mass of the non-primary-chain segment based on the first KMD analysis result and the second KMD analysis result.

10 . The method of analyzing polymer according to claim 9 , further comprising:

derivatizing one of the first polymer and the second polymer, so as to prepare the other of the first polymer and the second polymer.

11 . A non-transitory recording medium storing a program for executing polymer analysis in an information processing device, the program, when executed, causing the information processing device to perform functions to:

receive a first mass spectrum of a first polymer and a second mass spectrum of a second polymer, wherein the first mass spectrum and the second mass spectrum are acquired by performing mass spectrometry on the first polymer and the second polymer;

calculate, based on a first polymer molecule mass and a first repeating unit mass identified from the first mass spectrum of the first polymer, at least one mass candidate for a non-primary-chain segment of the first polymer by repeating subtraction of the first repeating unit mass from the first polymer molecule mass;

apply Kendrick Mass Defect (KMD) analysis on the at least one mass candidate using the first repeating unit mass to produce a first KMD analysis result;

apply KMD analysis on the second mass spectrum of the second polymer having a non-primary-chain segment which is identical to the non-primary-chain segment of the first polymer, using a second repeating unit mass identified from the second mass spectrum to produce a second KMD analysis result; and

produce an image for identifying a mass of the non-primary-chain segment based on the first KMD analysis result and the second KMD analysis result.