The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 24, 2012
Filed:
Nov. 12, 2008
Thomas Michael Orlando, Atlanta, GA (US);
Joshua Milbourne Symonds, Maplewood, NJ (US);
Thomas Michael Orlando, Atlanta, GA (US);
Joshua Milbourne Symonds, Maplewood, NJ (US);
Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, GA (US);
Abstract
A method and system for desorbing and ionizing molecules from a sample for mass spectrometry using a microplasma device is disclosed. The system and method relies upon a microplasma device, or array of such devices, to partially ionize a gas to form a microplasma. The ionized gas can be a mixture of a noble gas, such as neon or argon, and hydrogen (H). The ionized gas can form a effluent stream directed onto the surface of a sample to desorb molecules from the remainder of the sample. The desorbed molecules can be ionized by the effluent stream as they leave the surface of the sample. The ionization process can include: photoionization, penning ionization, chemical ionization (proton transfer), and electron impact ionization. The ionized particles from the sample can be directed to a mass spectrometer for analysis. This can produce spatially-resolved mass spectral data, and can be conducted concurrently with another imaging system, such as a microscope.