Analytica of Branford, Inc.

Perkinelmer Health Sciences, Inc.

Thomas Dresch

Craig M Whitehouse

Erol E Gulcicek

Bruce A Andrien, Jr

Bruce Andrien

Bruce A Andrien

A Direct Sample Analysis (DSA) ion source system operating at essentially atmospheric pressure is configured to facilitate the ionization, or desorption and ionization, of sample species from a wide variety of gaseous, liquid, and/or solid samples, for chemical analysis by mass spectrometry or other gas phase ion detectors. The DSA system includes one or more means of ionizing samples and includes a sealed enclosure which provides protection from high voltages and hazardous vapors, and in which the local background gas environment may be monitored and well-controlled. The DSA system is configured to accommodate single or multiple samples at any one time, and provide external control of individual sample positioning, sample conditioning, sample heating, positional sensing, and temperature measurement.

Apparatus for analysis of sample chemical species featuring multiple sample placement locations

A Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer includes a multipole ion guide located in the ion flight path between the ion source and the flight tube of the Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer. The multipole ion guide can be positioned in the ion path between the ion source and the ion pulsing region of the TOF mass analyzer. The multipole ion guide electronics and the ion guide entrance and exit electrostatic lenses are configured to enable trapping or passing through of ions delivered from an atmospheric pressure ion source. The multipole ion guide can be used for ion transmission, trapping and fragmentation, and can reside in one vacuum pumping stage or can extend continuously into more than one vacuum pumping stage.

[object Object]

An apparatus includes an atmospheric pressure ion source; a first vacuum stage and a second vacuum stage separated from the first vacuum stage by a vacuum partition; a first ion guide positioned within a first vacuum stage and arranged to receive ions from the atmospheric pressure ion source; a second ion guide positioned within a second vacuum stage downstream of the first vacuum stage from the atmospheric pressure ion source, the second ion guide being a multipole ion guide arranged to receive ions from the first ion guide; and a time-of-flight mass analyzer that includes an orthogonal pulsing region arranged to receive ions from the second ion guide.

A method includes directing ions from an atmospheric pressure ion source to a first ion guide; directing ions in the first ion guide to a second ion guide, the second ion guide being a multipole ion guide extending along an axis; periodically directing ions along the axis; receiving at least some of the ions in a time-of-flight analyzer; accelerating the ions in the time-of-flight mass analyzer orthogonal to the axis; and detecting the accelerated ions.

Multipole ion guide ion trap mass spectrometry with MS/MSN analysis

A method and an apparatus which combines at least one linear two dimensional ion guide or a two dimensional ion storage device in tandem with a time-of-flight mass analyzer to analyze ionic chemical species generated by an ion source. The method improves the duty cycle, and therefore, the overall instrument sensitivity with respect to the analyzed chemical species.

Ion storage time-of-flight mass spectrometer

A Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TOF-MS) is configured to improve resolution and sensitivity performance. The TOF-MS includes an arrangement of electrodes comprising an ion accelerator with two stages of homogeneous electric fields, an ion reflector with a single stage of a homogeneous electric field, accelerator and reflector being separated by a first drift space, and an ion detector which is separated from the reflector by a second drift space. Contrary to known TOF-MS of similar configuration, the set of electric potentials which must be applied to said electrodes is predetermined for a given geometry in such a way that a spatial distribution of ions initially at rest in the first gap of the said accelerator is compressed at the location of the detector in the longitudinal direction to a focus of first and second order in the initial axial coordinate. Therefore, mass resolution is enhanced over a TOF-MS that provides only for longitudinal focusing of first order, while the number of passages through grid electrodes along the flight path is reduced, and hence ion transmission and instrument sensitivity are improved.

Time-of-flight mass spectrometer with first and second order longitudinal focusing

A Time-Of-Flight (TOF) mass analyzer is configured with a multipole ion guide in the ion path between the ion source and pulsing region of the mass analyzer, and enables trapping or transmission of ions from an atmospheric pressure ion source. The mass-to-charge (m/z) range(s) of ions transmitted through or trapped in the ion guide can be selected. Ions with stable trajectories can undergo Collisional Induced Dissociation (CID). During ion fragmentation, the ion guide potentials can be set to transmit or trap fragment ions produced by CID. The parent and fragment ion population can be delivered from the ion guide to the pulsing region of the TOF mass analyzer for mass analysis. After the first fragmentation step, the ion guide potentials can again be set to select a narrow m/z range to clear the ion guide in trapping mode of all but a selected set of fragment ions. M/z selection and ion fragmentation can be repeated a number of times with mass analysis occurring at the end of all the MS/MS.sup.n steps or at various times during the MS/MS.sup.n stepwise process. Additionally, the normally stepwise MS/MS.sup.n analysis function can be merged into a single step, increasing the effective duty cycle. In all embodiments, the ion guide can reside in one vacuum pumping stage or can extend continuously into more than one vacuum pumping stage.

Multipole ion guide ion trap mass spectrometry with MS/MS.sup.N analysis

Time-of-flight mass spectrometer with first and second order

Electrostatic deflectors are used in a time of flight mass spectrometer to steer ions into a detector positioned at a convenient location at the end of a drift region and where the detector assembly is tilted in relation with the steered ion beam in a manner which improves mass spectral resolution.

Mass resolution by angular alignment of the ion detector conversion

A method and an apparatus which combines a linear two dimensional ion guide or a two dimensional ion storage device in tandem with a time-of-flight mass analyzer to analyze ionic chemical species generated by an ion source. The method improves the duty cycle, and therefore, the overall instrument sensitivity with respect to the analyzed chemical species.

Growing community of inventors

East Syracuse, NY, United States of America

Thomas Dresch