Applications of Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Abstract

This chapter focuses specifically on the applications of portable ion mobility spectrometers (IMS). The most common IMS technology in commercial instruments used for the field applications is the drift tube technology. The chapter discusses the crucial role of trace chemical detection that IMS plays in various military, security, and law enforcement settings. Chemical attacks have been and continue to be a threat to militaries across the world. Military preparedness significantly improved as a result of lessons learned after a chemical warfare agent attack on the general public by domestic terrorists in the Tokyo subway system in 1995. The development of explosive detection capabilities using IMS has been heavily supported by the demands of the aviation industry. The detection of explosives by IMS is based on the premise that explosives leave particulate residues on surfaces through either direct or secondary contact.