A compact high resolution electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometer

Reinecke, Tobias; Kirk, Ansgar T.; Ahrens, André; Raddatz, Christian-Robert; Thoben, Christian; Zimmermann, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2015.12.006

Cited by 30 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…However, due to restrictions relating to radiation safety and the problems with storage and transport, radioactive sources are increasingly being replaced by other elements that provoke the gas ionization. Alternative ionization techniques include UV ionization, corona discharge ionization, thermal ionization, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI), and electrospray ionization (ESI), which is used for ion mobility spectrometry coupled to mass spectrometry [16,17]. The ESI method is particularly useful for the analysis of non-volatile organic compounds from samples in the liquid phase.…”

Section: Ionization Of Chemical Compounds In Imsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dopants and gas modifiers in ion mobility spectrometry

Waraksa

Perycz

Namieśnik

et al. 2016

TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry

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Section: Ionization Of Chemical Compounds In Imsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dopants and gas modifiers in ion mobility spectrometry

Waraksa

Perycz

Namieśnik

et al. 2016

TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry

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“…Non-radioactive electron sources generate comparable spectra, but are not commercially available as original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Therefore, in a previous work [13] we investigated the performance of an X-ray source as a replacement of the radioactive tritium source in our IMS [14]. We found that the X-ray source generates comparable spectra with a comparable resolving power [13,15], which leads to the same applications as those of conventional IMS with radioactive source.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Therefore, in a previous work [13] we investigated the performance of an X-ray source as a replacement of the radioactive tritium source in our IMS [14]. We found that the X-ray source generates comparable spectra with a comparable resolving power [13,15], which leads to the same applications as those of conventional IMS with radioactive source. However, the disadvantage of the X-ray source is a very high penetration depth, which results in a constant ionization of the drift gas inside the drift region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Thus, the maximum achievable signalto-noise ratio (SNR) is limited to the point where the increase in signal amplitude is lower than the increase in noise. In order to achieve a significant improvement of sensitivity, setup modifications are required to avoid ionization of the drift gas in the drift region [13]. In this work, the IMS design is modified by arranging the X-ray source orthogonal to the drift tube, to focus the X-ray beam to the ionization region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ion mobility spectrometer with orthogonal X-Ray source for increased sensitivity

Bunert

Reinecke

Kirk

et al. 2018

Talanta

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Ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) are compact devices for extremely sensitive detection of proton and electron affine volatile compounds down to low ppt concentrations within less than a second. The measuring principle requires ionization of the target analyte. Most IMS employ radioactive electron sources, such as Ni orH. These radioactive materials suffer from legal restrictions limiting the fields of application. Furthermore, the electron emission has a predetermined intensity and cannot be controlled or disabled. In a previous work, we replaced the axially mounted H source of our ion mobility spectrometer with a commercially available X-ray source operated at low acceleration voltage of 4.5 kV to be applicable in most application without legal restrictions. However, the high penetration depth of the radiation together with the statistical behavior of the X-ray ionization process led to an increase of Fano noise and thus a limited signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, the X-ray source is now mounted orthogonal to the drift tube in order to avoid Fano noise. Here, we compare the analytical performance of this orthogonal setup with the axially mounted X-ray source. The noise level is significantly reduced. This improves the signal-to-noise ratio from 700 with the axially placed source to more than 3000 with the orthogonally placed source, while the resolving power still remains at R = 100. Furthermore, typical limits of detection for some model substances in the low ppt range in positive and negative ion mode are given.

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“…IMS separates ions based on their mobility in an inert drift gas in the presence of an electric field. In the last years, we developed very compact high-resolution drift tube IMS with short drift lengths between 40 and 150 mm [6,7] and different ion sources such as radioactive 3 H [8] and non-radioactive electron sources [9], corona [7], X-ray [10], ultra violet (UV) [11] and electrospray ionization (ESI) sources [12] reaching a resolving power up to 250 [6]. High-resolution IMS allow the investigation of ions with respect to size, shape and charge gaining insights into molecular structures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupling of a High-Resolution Ambient Pressure Drift Tube Ion Mobility Spectrometer to a Commercial Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometer

Allers

Timoumi

Kirk

et al. 2018

J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom.

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Ion mobility spectrometry provides information about molecular structures of ions. Hence, high resolving power allows separation of isomers which is of major interest in several applications. In this work, we couple our high-resolution ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) with a resolving power of R = 100 to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS). Besides, the benefit of an increased resolving power such an IMS-MS also helps analyzing and understanding the ionization processes in IMS. Usually, the coupling between IMS and TOF-MS is realized by synchronizing data acquisition of the IMS and MS resulting in two-dimensional data containing ion mobility and mass spectra. However, due to peak widths of less than 100 μs in our high-resolution IMS, this technique is not practicable due to significant peak broadening during the ion transfer into the MS and an insufficient data acquisition rate of the MS. Thus, a novel but simple interface between the IMS and MS has been designed which minimizes ion losses, allows recording of ion mobility at full IMS resolving power, and enables a shuttered transmission of ions into the MS. The interface is realized by replacing the Faraday plate used in IMS by a Faraday grid that is shielded by two additional aperture grids. For demonstration, positive product ions of benzene, toluene, and m-xylene in air are investigated. The IMS is equipped with a radioactive H source. Besides the well-known product ions M and M·NO, a dimer ion is also observed for benzene and toluene, consisting of two molecules and three further hydrogen atoms. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

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A compact high resolution electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometer

Cited by 30 publications

References 25 publications

Dopants and gas modifiers in ion mobility spectrometry

Dopants and gas modifiers in ion mobility spectrometry

Ion mobility spectrometer with orthogonal X-Ray source for increased sensitivity

Coupling of a High-Resolution Ambient Pressure Drift Tube Ion Mobility Spectrometer to a Commercial Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometer

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