Analysis of Development Status of Mass Spectrometers in China

Mass spectrometry instrumentation is a high-end scientific and technological instrument that is the only means of directly measuring the molecular weight of a substance. It is characterized by high resolution, high sensitivity, high throughput, and high accuracy. The following Xiaobian does a detailed analysis of the development status of mass spectrometers in China and hopes to help everyone.

Because all analytical and test fields use mass spectrometry instruments, they have an irreplaceable role and a pivotal position in fields such as life sciences, materials science, food safety, environmental monitoring, healthcare, national security, and international anti-terrorism.

With the wide application of mass spectrometry technology, the importance of the international community has gradually increased. Up to now, six scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for their outstanding contribution to the development of mass spectrometry technology. China also listed it as an “industry common technology” as early as 2012. However, there is a big gap between China's mass-spectrum R&D technology level and industrialization level and the international leading level. Due to the economic development and the demand for science and technology development, China has now become an application center for high-end scientific instruments in the world, but it is not a technology center, almost all commercially available mass spectrometers. Instruments rely on imports. Specifically, there are fewer teams that fully grasp mass-related precision machinery, precision electronics, electronic ion optics, software, and automatic control technologies, and fewer companies have high-performance mass spectrometry industrialization capabilities.

According to the analysis and forecast report of instrumentation market, it is understood that due to the large investment in R&D of mass spectrometers and the difficulty in technological innovation, the effective protection of technological innovation results in the continuous advancement of technological development and technological innovation. At the same time, companies need to protect their innovative technologies through patent protection. With the initial excess profits, the protection of MS patents is particularly important. The current status of patents for mass spectrometry instruments in China will be interpreted from the aspects of the analysis and utilization of mass spectrometry patent information, protection strategies, and patent applications, and the author's thinking and suggestions will be presented in a targeted manner. He hopes to have some inspiration for the development of the industry.

First of all, from the perspective of the analysis, utilization and protection of the mass spectrum patent information, as the development of China's mass spectrometry industry is still in its infancy and the importance of the industry has not yet been fully taken into account, there are very few institutions that carry out in-depth research in this area, especially related companies are even blank. .

Currently, the team engaged in the patent analysis of mass spectrometry technology is mainly the Strategic Research Center of the China Institute of Science and Technology Information. Dr. Zhang Zhijuan of the center published two articles related to the analysis of mass spectrometry patents and is the only publicly published academic paper related to mass spectrometry. It mainly focuses on the quantitative analysis of changes in the number of filings over time, the distribution of priority countries, the distribution of international patent classifications, the distribution of patents, the ranking of applicants, the distribution of applicants, and the distribution of patent families in the same country. However, due to the complexity of mass spectrometry technology and the wide variety of subdivided technologies, it is difficult to understand the development trend and distribution of subdivision technologies simply through simple analysis. On this basis, Dr. Li Zhirong and Liang Qinqin respectively conducted reports on "Plasma Analysis and Technology Forecasting of Mass Spectrometers" and "Opportunities Brought by Domestic and Foreign Patent Comparison of Mass Spectrometers and Overseas Deployments for Domestic Mass Spectrometry Industry", including Liang Qinqin in the report. The mass spectrometry technology is divided into two major categories of ion source and analyzer, and the ion source is subdivided into four types. The analyzer technology is divided into six types, and the distribution of patent applicants for each segmentation technology is analyzed.

However, due to lack of in-depth and comprehensive understanding of relevant technologies in the field of specialized scientific and technological information service units that carry out patent analysis of mass spectrometry technologies, especially the lack of sensitivity to cutting-edge technologies, it is difficult for related research to further subdivide into technical fields. Research results are specific. It is less useful to guide technology development or provide reference for specific R&D activities. However, a mass-spectrum R&D company or technology development unit that actually has technical information needs, although it has a deep and comprehensive understanding of the technology in the field, it lacks scientific and systematic methods for analysis of technical literature, lacks relevant knowledge and skills in patent document retrieval, and lacks patent documents. Database resources such as databases make it difficult to systematically analyze and utilize patent information. This is also a common problem faced by many strategic emerging industries and technology-intensive industries in China in the use of patent information.

Secondly, from the perspective of simple technology patent applications, the situation is also mixed. In the field of mass spectrometry, the number of patent applications has grown very rapidly due to the increase in domestic R&D organizations for mass spectrometry in China, the development of related technologies, and the increasing demand and market volume of analytical instruments in China.

We can see that the number of invention patents relating to mass spectrometry instrument technology has increased significantly in 2009-2011, which is nearly three years (the patent publication has 18 lags, and the application data after 2012 is not statistically significant). As of 2011, global mass spectrum patent data shows that China ranked third in the number of related applications.

In the composition of patents related to mass spectrometry instrument technology generated in China, foreign companies and research institutions account for a large proportion of invention patent applications and authorized patent applications, particularly in the United States and Japan, which exceed ten percentage points.

Although local Chinese companies pay attention to the number of patent applications and the support of government patent incentive policies, the number of patent applications has increased, but we have to admit that the number of high-quality upstream patent applications with strong innovation and protection scope is small. The importance of patent quality is also insufficient. At the same time, there are many cases of rejection after the invention patent application and withdrawal after the publication: Many units lack systemic patent application and patent document writing strategies. In addition, Chinese local companies applied for fewer patents in the United States, Europe, Japan, and other countries, which to a certain extent reflect the technological innovation of China's mass spectrometry research and development units as well as the international strategic layout and the gap between Western technology and developed countries.

How to make up for the gap under the existing conditions is a question worth pondering. Whether it is a mass-market mass spectrometry industry that is still in a technologically-challenged form or a mass-produced mass-spectrum enterprise, it may be able to seek breakthroughs in the following areas.

In terms of patent strategy, first, patent information should be used efficiently, and internationally available non-infringing patent technologies should be used to systematically analyze the patent layout in each subdivided area, track the legal status of foreign patents, and look for areas with market demand but low technological competition. , Grasping the potential patent area of ​​foreign large enterprises in China to promote the improvement of China's mass spectrometry; At the same time, strengthen the patent protection of independent innovation technology, improve the awareness of patent protection, while paying attention to the number of patent applications, pay attention to Patent authorization rate and emphasis on patent quality, search and analysis of the full online technology before the patent application, assessment of licensing prospects, increase the patent licensing rate and expand the scope of the claims, and seek the authorization of many countries for important or innovative patents , to enhance the influence of patents in Chinese local companies or research institutions.

In specific practices, government-based public-welfare institutions that analyze patent information should strengthen cooperation with industrial enterprises and technology research institutions, and carry out targeted system training to meet the needs of specific information retrieval and analysis, and at the same time share documents. Database resources truly promote the use of patent information; on the other hand, industrial companies and research institutions should pay attention to the use of patent information, strengthen the training of specialized personnel, and give full play to the role of patent information in technology development, product development, and marketing.

The development of mass spectrometer instruments involves precision mechanics, electron ion optics, vacuum technology, and software technology. It requires the integration of a variety of cutting-edge technologies and is characterized by cutting-edge technology. In order to realize the vision of curve passing, in the future, China can obtain core technologies with independent intellectual property rights in the field of mass spectrometry by directly applying for patents, purchasing related core patents, etc. In the face of infringement issues, considering ineffective related patents, circumvention design, etc. In order to solve the problem of patent infringement, it strives to use 10 years to complete the initial technology accumulation, and by 2025 it will strive to enter the world's leading technology ranks.