Offers maximum volatility
- Trimethylsilyl donor strength comparable to BSA and BSTFA
- Reacts to replace labile hydrogens on a wide range of polar compounds with a Si(CH3)3 group
- Used to prepare volatile and thermally stable derivatives for GC and MS
- Volatile byproduct, N-methyltrifluoroacetamide, has an even lower retention time than MSTFA
- Often TMS derivatives of small molecules can be analyzed when derivatized with MSTFA because the byproducts and the reagent itself usually elute with the solvent front
- Addition of Thermo Scientfic TMCS aids derivatization of amides, secondary amines and hindered hydroxyls not derivatized by MSTFA alone