Abstract: A mass spectrometer system and a method of operating same are provided. The system comprises a) an ion conduit for receiving ions; b) a boundary member defining a curtain gas chamber containing the ion conduit; c) a curtain gas supply for providing a curtain gas directed by the boundary member to an inlet of the ion conduit to provide a gas flow into the ion conduit, and a curtain gas outflow out of a curtain gas chamber inlet; d) a mass spectrometer at least partially sealed to, and in fluid communication with, the ion conduit for receiving the ions from the ion conduit; a vacuum chamber surrounding the mass spectrometer operable to draw the gas flow including the ions through the ion conduit and into the vacuum chamber; and, e) a gas outlet for drawing a gas outflow from the gas flow located between the ion conduit and the mass spectrometer to increase the gas flow rate through the ion conduit.

Abstract: A system including a differential mobility spectrometer is described as is a method of operating the system including the differential mobility spectrometer.

Abstract: A method for introducing samples through a boundary member partially defining a chamber at an entrance point coaxial to a sampling inlet of a mass spectrometer is described. Field-free conditions can be established in at least one region of the chamber. The sample can be introduced adjacent to the sampling inlet, and introducing at least a second sample can be introduced through at least one other entrance point in the chamber not adjacent to the sampling inlet. An apparatus having a sampling inlet and a boundary member partially defining a chamber is also described. Field-free conditions can be established in at least one region of the chamber, and there can be a first aperture in the boundary member through which a source emits sample. Related devices, uses and mass spectrometers are also described.

Abstract: An ion guide with two or more ion focusing elements and a gas channeling sleeve is described. An ion transport space within the gas channeling sleeve is in fluid communication with a pumping port. A suction device is used to suction gas out of the ion transport space through the pumping port establishing a gas flow. Ions in the ion transport space are transported from an ion entry end to an ion exit end of the ion guide by the gas flow. Several examples include a multipole ion guide in which rods are used as ion focusing elements. The gas channeling sleeve is fitted about the rods. In another example, toroidal or ring shaped ion focusing elements are used as ion focusing elements. In another example, a set of ion focusing rings are mounted between insulators to form a cylinder with a gas impermeable side wall. The cylinder is itself used as the gas channeling sleeve.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for performing mass spectroscopy uses an ion interface to provide the function of removing undesirable particulates from an ion stream from an atmospheric pressure ion source, such as an electrospray source or a MALDI source, before the ion stream enters a vacuum chamber containing the mass spectrometer. The ion interface includes an entrance cell with a bore that may be heated for desolvating charged droplets when the ion source is an electrospray source, and a particle discrimination cell with a bore disposed downstream of the bore of the entrance cell and before an aperture leading to the vacuum chamber. The particle discrimination cell creates gas dynamic and electric field conditions that enables separation of undesirable charged particulates from the ion stream.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed to prepare a sample or a plurality of samples for subsequent analysis. A single sample deposition apparatus, and a multiplexed sample deposition apparatus are shown. The apparatus allows for a system that can provide a high throughput deposition of samples to form chromatograms by discrete droplet deposition or as continuous traces. The system can achieve high resolution digitization by pulsing the fluid emanating from the chromatographs by applying a voltage to the target plate that operates at frequencies equal to or greater than about 10 Hz, and up to and including about 1 KHz. The system also allows for analogue recording (i.e., approaching infinite resolution) by nebulizing the fluid coming from multiple columns and simultaneously collecting it on a target plate as a continuous trace.

Abstract: In a mass spectrometer, ions from an ion source pass through an inlet aperture into a vacuum chamber for transmitting prior to mass analysis by the mass analyzer. The configuration of the inlet aperture forms a sonic orifice or sonic nozzle and with a predetermined vacuum chamber pressure, a supersonic free jet expansion is created in the vacuum chamber that entrains the ions within the barrel shock and Mach disc. Once formed, at least one ion guide with a predetermined cross-section to essentially radially confine the supersonic free jet expansion can focus the ions for transmission through the vacuum chamber. This effectively improves the ion transmission between the ion source and the mass analyzer.

Abstract: A mass spectrometry quantitation technique enables high-throughput quantitation of small molecules using a laser-desorption (e.g., MALDI) ion source coupled to a triplequadrupole mass analyzer. The ions generated from the ion source are collisionally damped/cooled, and then quantitatively analyzed using the triple-quadrupole analyzer operated in the multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) mode. Significantly improved measurement sensitivity is obtained by applying laser pulses to the ion source at a high pulse rate of about SOOHz or higher. This allows the data acquisition to be performed rapidly, and the speed of about one second for each sample point on the ion source target has been achieved.

Abstract: A laser desorption ion source provides enhanced ion sampling efficiency and measurement sensitivity by using one or more ion guides to effectively capture ions in a plume emitted from the ion target and guide the ions through an aperture into a downstream vacuum chamber. In one configuration using two RF multipole ion guides, a first RF multipole ion guide disposed next to the ion target is selected to be sufficiently large to capture a substantial portion of the plume, while the second RF multipole ion guide disposed between the first multipole ion guide and the aperture has a smaller dimension to assist focusing of ions into the aperture. The first RF multipole ion guides the ions in the plume into the second RF multipole ion guide, which then focuses the ions so that they pass through the aperture into the downstream vacuum chamber.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for performing mass spectroscopy uses an ion interface to provide the function of removing undesirable particulates from an ion stream from an atmospheric pressure ion source, such as an electrospray source or a MALDI source, before the ion stream enters a vacuum chamber containing the mass spectrometer. The ion interface includes an entrance cell with a bore that may be heated for desolvating charged droplets when the ion source is an electrospray source, and a particle discrimination cell with a bore disposed downstream of the bore of the entrance cell and before an aperture leading to the vacuum chamber. The particle discrimination cell creates gas dynamic and electric field conditions that enables separation of undesirable charged particulates from the ion stream.

Abstract: A mass spectrometry quantitation technique enables high-throughput quantitation of small molecules using a laser-desorption (e.g., MALDI) ion source coupled to a triple-quadrupole mass analyzer. The ions generated from the ion source are collisionally damped/cooled, and then quantitatively analyzed using the triple-quadrupole analyzer operated in the multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) mode. Significantly improved measurement throughput is obtained by applying the laser to each sample spot on the target for an irradiation duration significantly shorter than the time required to deplete the sample material in the sample spot. The irradiation duration may be set based on a determination of the MRM peak broadening caused by the ion optics.

Abstract: Ions for analysis are formed from a liquid sample comprising an analyte in a solvent liquid by directing the liquid sample through a capillary tube having a free end so as to form a first flow comprising a spray of droplets of the liquid sample, to promote vaporization of the solvent liquid. An orifice member is spaced from the free-end of the capillary tube and has an orifice therein. An electric field is generated between the free-end of the capillary and the orifice member, thereby causing the droplets to be charged, and the first flow is directed in a first direction along the axis of the capillary tube. Two gas sources, or an arc jet of gas, provide second and third flows, of a gas, and include heaters for heating the second and third flows.