Pressure Ion Source Research Articles

Super-atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry and its application to ultrafast online protein digestion analysis.

Pressure is a key parameter for an ionization source. In this Special Feature article, Lee Chuin Chen and colleagues review super-atmospheric pressure ionization MS with electrospray, corona-discharge-based chemical ionization, and field desorption. They routinely run their mass spectrometer with ion source pressures ranging from several to several tens of atmospheres. A number of strategies have been used to preserve the high vacuum of the instrument while working with a high-pressure (HP) ion source. A recent prototype uses a booster pump with variable pumping speed added to the first pumping stage of the mass spectrometer to regulate a constant vacuum pressure. Further, a new HP-ESI source allowing rapid (a few seconds) online protein digestion MS is also reported. Dr. Lee Chuin Chen is Associate Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Yamanashi (Yamanashi, Japan). His main research interest is the development of novel mass spectrometric methods for in-situ medical diagnosis.

Super-atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry and its application to ultrafast online protein digestion analysis.

Ion source pressure plays a significant role in the process of ionization and the subsequent ion transmission inside a mass spectrometer. Pressurizing the ion source to a gas pressure greater than atmospheric pressure is a relatively new approach that aims to further improve the performance of atmospheric pressure ionization sources. For example, under a super-atmospheric pressure environment, a stable electrospray can be sustained for liquid with high surface tension such as pure water, because of the suppression of electric discharge. Even for nano-electrospray ionization (nano-ESI), which is known to work with aqueous solution, its stability and sensitivity can also be enhanced, particularly in the negative mode when the ion source is pressurized. A brief review on the development of super-atmospheric pressure ion sources, including high-pressure electrospray, field desorption and superheated ESI, and the strategies to interface these ion sources to a mass spectrometer will be given. Using a recent ESI prototype with an operating temperature at 220 °C under 27 atm, we also demonstrate that it is possible to achieve an online Asp-specific protein digestion analysis in which the whole processes of digestion, ionization and MS acquisition could be completed on the order of a few seconds. This method is fast, and the reaction can even be monitored on a near-real-time basis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Enhanced performance for the analysis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using a new atmospheric pressure ionization source

Eicosanoids, including prostaglandins and thromboxanes are lipid mediators synthetized from polyunsaturated fatty acids. They play an important role in cell signaling and are often reported as inflammatory markers. LC–MS/MS is the technique of choice for the analysis of these compounds, often in combination with advanced sample preparation techniques.Here we report a head to head comparison between an electrospray ionization source (ESI) and a new atmospheric pressure ionization source (UniSpray). The performance of both interfaces was evaluated in various matrices such as human plasma, pig colon and mouse colon. The UniSpray source shows an increase in method sensitivity up to a factor 5. Equivalent to better linearity and repeatability on various matrices as well as an increase in signal intensity were observed in comparison to ESI.

Analysis of cocaine and metabolites in hair: validation and application of measurement of hydroxycocaine metabolites as evidence of cocaine ingestion.

An LC/MS/MS method to identify and quantitate in hair the minor metabolites of cocaine-meta-, para-, and ortho-hydroxy cocaine-was developed and validated. Analysis was performed on a triple quadrupole ABSciex API 3000 MS equipped with an atmospheric pressure ionization source via an IonSpray (ESI). For LC, a series 200 micro binary pump with a Perkin Elmer Model 200 autosampler was used. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.02 ng/10 mg hair, with linearity from 0.02 to 10 ng/10 mg hair. Concentrations of the para isomer in extensively washed hair samples were in the range of 1-2 % of the cocaine in the sample, while the concentrations of the ortho form were considerably less. The method was used to analyze large numbers of samples from two populations: workplace and criminal justice. In vitro experiments to determine if deodorants or peroxide-containing cosmetic treatments could result in the presence of these metabolites in hair showed that this does not occur with extensively washed hair. Presence of hydroxycocaines, when detected after aggressive washing of the hair samples, provides a valuable additional indicator of ingestion of cocaine rather than mere environmental exposure.

Low-pressure barrier discharge ion source using air as a carrier gas and its application to the analysis of drugs and explosives.

In this work, a low-pressure air dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) ion source using a capillary with the inner diameter of 0.115 and 12 mm long applicable to miniaturized mass spectrometers was developed. The analytes, trinitrotoluene (TNT), 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), 1,3,5,7-tetranitroperhydro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), nitroglycerine (NG), hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), caffeine, cocaine and morphine, introduced through the capillary, were ionized by a low-pressure air DBD. The ion source pressures were changed by using various sizes of the ion sampling orifice. The signal intensities of those analytes showed marked pressure dependence. TNT was detected with higher sensitivity at lower pressure but vice versa for other analytes. For all analytes, a marked signal enhancement was observed when a grounded cylindrical mesh electrode was installed in the DBD ion source. Among nine analytes, RDX, HMX, NG and PETN could be detected as cluster ions [analyte + NO3 ](-) even at low pressure and high temperature up to 180 °C. The detection indicates that these cluster ions are stable enough to survive under present experimental conditions. The unexpectedly high stabilities of these cluster ions were verified by density functional theory calculation.

Ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry examination of the structures, stabilities, and extents of hydration of dimethylamine-sulfuric acid clusters.

We applied an atmospheric pressure differential mobility analyzer (DMA) coupled to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to examine the stability, mass-mobility relationship, and extent of hydration of dimethylamine-sulfuric acid cluster ions, which are of relevance to nucleation in ambient air. Cluster ions were generated by electrospray ionization and were of the form: [H((CH3)2NH)x(H2SO4)y](+) and [(HSO4)((CH3)2NH)x(H2SO4)y](-), where 4 ≤ x ≤ 8, and 5 ≤ y ≤ 12. Under dry conditions, we find that positively charged cluster ions dissociated via loss of both multiple dimethylamine and sulfuric acid molecules after mobility analysis but prior to mass analysis, and few parent ions were detected in the mass spectrometer. Dissociation also occurred for negative ions, but to a lesser extent than for positive ions for the same mass spectrometer inlet conditions. Under humidified conditions (relative humidities up to 30% in the DMA), positively charged cluster ion dissociation in the mass spectrometer inlet was mitigated and occurred primarily by H2SO4 loss from ions containing excess acid molecules. DMA measurements were used to infer collision cross sections (CCSs) for all identifiable cluster ions. Stokes-Millikan equation and diffuse/inelastic gas molecule scattering predicted CCSs overestimate measured CCSs by more than 15%, while elastic-specular collision model predictions are in good agreement with measurements. Finally, cluster ion hydration was examined by monitoring changes in CCSs with increasing relative humidity. All examined cluster ions showed a modest amount of water molecule adsorption, with percentage increases in CCS smaller than 10%. The extent of hydration correlates directly with cluster ion acidity for positive ions.

An open port sampling interface for liquid introduction atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry.

A simple method to introduce unprocessed samples into a solvent for rapid characterization by liquid introduction atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry has been lacking. The continuous flow, self-cleaning open port sampling interface introduced here fills this void. The open port sampling interface used a vertically aligned, co-axial tube arrangement enabling solvent delivery to the sampling end of the device through the tubing annulus and solvent aspiration down the center tube and into the ionization source of the mass spectrometer via the commercial APCI emitter probe. The solvent delivery rate to the interface was set to exceed the aspiration rate, creating a continuous sampling interface along with a constant, self-cleaning spillover of solvent from the top of the probe. Using the open port sampling interface with positive ion mode APCI and a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer, rapid, direct sampling and analysis possibilities are exemplified with plastics, ballpoint and felt tip ink pens, skin, and vegetable oils. These results demonstrated that the open port sampling interface could be used as a simple, versatile and self-cleaning system to rapidly introduce multiple types of unprocessed, sometimes highly concentrated and complex, samples into a solvent flow stream for subsequent ionization and analysis by mass spectrometry. The basic setup presented here could be incorporated with any self-aspirating liquid introduction ionization source (e.g., ESI, APCI, APPI, ICP, etc.) or any type of atmospheric pressure sampling-ready mass spectrometer system. The open port sampling interface provides a means to introduce and quickly analyze unprocessed solid or liquid samples with the liquid introduction atmospheric pressure ionization source without fear of sampling interface or ionization source contamination.

Detection of explosives using a hollow cathode discharge ion source.

For public security and safety, it is highly desirable to develop an ion source for the detection of explosives that is highly sensitive, compact in size, robust, and does not use any special carrier gases such as helium. In this work, a hollow cathode discharge (HCD) ion source was developed for the detection of explosives using ambient air as a carrier gas. To detect nonvolatile and thermally unstable explosives with high sensitivities, a new HCD ion source was designed and coupled with an ion trap mass spectrometer. Five explosives--hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), nitroglycerin (NG) and trinitrotoluene (TNT)--were detected with limits of detection of lower than ng. The intensities of the NO3(-) adduct ions with RDX, PETN, and NG showed a marked increase with increase in ion source pressure in the range of 1-28 Torr. Because the major NOx(-) ions (x = 2, 3) produced in the plasma act as reagent ions in ion-molecule reactions of explosives, air is best suited as a carrier gas for the detection of explosives. It is proposed that the NOx(-) (x = 2, 3) and O3 contributed to the formation of [TNT-H](-) and [TNT-NO](-) ions, via the reactions NOx(-) + TNT → [TNT-H](-) + HNOx and [TNT](-) + O3 → [TNT-NO](-) + NO2 + O2.

Ionization suppression effects with condensed phase membrane introduction mass spectrometry: methods to increase the linear dynamic range and sensitivity.

Condensed phase membrane introduction mass spectrometry (CP-MIMS) is an online analytical method that allows for the direct, trace level measurement of a wide range of analytes in complex samples. The technique employs a semi-permeable membrane that transfers analytes from a sample into a flowing acceptor solvent, which is directly infused to an atmospheric pressure ionization source, such as electrospray or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization. While CP-MIMS and variants of the technique have been in the literature for nearly a decade, much of the work has focused on instrument development. Few studies have thoroughly addressed quantitative methods related to detection limits, ionization suppression, or linear dynamic range. We examine ionization suppression in the direct rapid quantitation of analytes by CP-MIMS and introduce several analytical strategies to mitigate these effects, including the novel implementation of a continuously infused internal standard in the acceptor phase solvent, and modulation of acceptor phase flow rate. Several representative analytes were used to evaluate this approach with spiked, complex sample matrices, including primary wastewater effluent and artificial urine. Also reported are improved measured detection limits in the low part-per-trillion range, using a 'stopped-flow' acceptor mode.

Development and characterizations of a miniature capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry system.

A miniature capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (CE/MS) system has been developed in this work. A 100% electrical driven miniaturized CE device was integrated with a miniature MS instrument, which has a discontinuous atmospheric pressure interface (DAPI) for coupling with atmospheric pressure ionization sources. A nanoelectrospray ionization (nano-ESI) source was developed with a sheath liquid interface for coupling the miniature CE and the MS system. A systematic characterization and optimization of the analytical performance have been done. The analysis of isobaric peptides and avoiding charge competition effects in nano-ESI sources have been demonstrated.

Development of an ion activation stage for atmospheric pressure ionization sources.

The ion-molecule chemistry in typical atmospheric pressure ion sources is essentially thermodynamically controlled. Methods relying on gas-phase protonation reactions, e.g. atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), thus suffer from the low reactivity of the equilibrated reagent ion population, which is mostly [H + (H2O)n](+). Reagent ion activation to yield reactive species such as H3O(+) is largely uncontrolled in commercial API mass spectrometers. The ion activation stage (IAS) is realized as an ion 'tunnel' device. The 30-electrode geometry has an octagonal cross section and an inner diameter of 10 mm. The tunnel is mounted in a vacuum chamber, which directly attaches to the first pumping stage of API mass spectrometers. The effluent from a typical inlet capillary is expanding into the IAS. Reagent ions are generated at atmospheric pressure. Mass spectrometric analysis is performed with quadrupole and time-of-flight instruments. The performance of the IAS is demonstrated by the controlled activation of the initially equilibrated proton-bound water cluster system. It is shown that a gradual increase in the RF voltage amplitude applied to the electrode structure leads to a reproducible shift of the cluster distribution along with clearly discernible protonation thresholds of selected analytes. Increasing the radiofrequency (RF) voltage from zero to maximum values does not change the average ion residence time within the IAS. We have developed an IAS for operation in the intermediate (1-10 mbar) regime in the ion transfer region of API mass spectrometers. This stage is fully compatible with the recently introduced cAPCI method, which relies on the operation of a liquid point electrode generating very clean and stable thermal distributions of [H + (H2O)n] clusters. The IAS allows controlled ion activation by increasing the ion temperature, which is demonstrated by selective analyte protonation.

Effect of swirling desolvation gas flow in an atmospheric pressure ion source.

A numerical study is performed to examine the effect of introducing a swirling desolvation gas flow on the flow transport characteristics in an electrospray and an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) system. An ion source having three coaxial tubes is considered: (1) an inner capillary tube to inject the liquid sample, (2) a center coaxial tube to provide a room temperature gas flow to nebulize the liquid, referred to as the nebulizing gas flow, and (3) an outer coaxial tube having a converging exit to supply a high temperature gas for droplet desolvation, referred to as the desolvation gas flow. The results show that a swirling desolvation gas flow reduces the dispersion of the nebulizing gas and suppresses turbulent diffusion. The effect of swirling desolvation flow on the trajectory of a range of droplet sizes emitted from a source is also considered.

Are clusters important in understanding the mechanisms in atmospheric pressure ionization? Part 1: Reagent ion generation and chemical control of ion populations.

It is well documented since the early days of the development of atmospheric pressure ionization methods, which operate in the gas phase, that cluster ions are ubiquitous. This holds true for atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, as well as for more recent techniques, such as atmospheric pressure photoionization, direct analysis in real time, and many more. In fact, it is well established that cluster ions are the primary carriers of the net charge generated. Nevertheless, cluster ion chemistry has only been sporadically included in the numerous proposed ionization mechanisms leading to charged target analytes, which are often protonated molecules. This paper series, consisting of two parts, attempts to highlight the role of cluster ion chemistry with regard to the generation of analyte ions. In addition, the impact of the changing reaction matrix and the non-thermal collisions of ions en route from the atmospheric pressure ion source to the high vacuum analyzer region are discussed. This work addresses such issues as extent of protonation versus deuteration, the extent of analyte fragmentation, as well as highly variable ionization efficiencies, among others. In Part 1, the nature of the reagent ion generation is examined, as well as the extent of thermodynamic versus kinetic control of the resulting ion population entering the analyzer region.

The method for on-site determination of trace concentrations of methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide in air using a mobile mass spectrometer with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, combined with a fast enrichment/separation system.

A method for fast simultaneous on-site determination of methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide in air was developed. The target compounds were actively collected on silica gel, followed by direct flash thermal desorption, fast separation on a short chromatographic column and detection by means of mass spectrometer with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization. During the sampling of ambient air, water vapor was removed with a Nafion selective membrane. A compact mass spectrometer prototype, which was designed earlier at Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, was used. The minimization of gas load of the atmospheric pressure ion source allowed reducing the power requirements and size of the vacuum system and increasing its ruggedness. The measurement cycle is about 3 min. Detection limits in a 0.6 L sample are 1 ppb for methyl mercaptan and 0.2 ppb for dimethyl sulfide.

Differentiation of cyclosporin A from isocyclosporin A by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with post-column addition of divalent metal salt

Cyclosporin A (CsA) rearranges to its isomer isocyclosporin A (isoCsA) upon acid hydrolysis and also during ionization in the ion source of the mass spectrometer. It has been reported that both compounds could not be differentiated by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using atmospheric pressure ionization (API) sources and ambiguously differentiated by using other sources. In order to analyze these compounds which are common fungal metabolites, it is relevant to develop a simple method for their differentiation. CsA and isoCsA were analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with post-column addition of metal ion solutions in a quadrupole time-of-flight instrument equipped with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source. Mass spectra of CsA obtained upon post-column addition of solutions of Ca(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) showed complexes between cyclosporin and the metal, including [2CsA + Me](2+) and [CsA-H + Me](+). These complexes were not observed in the spectra of isoCsA. The same results were observed at different metal concentrations. Differentiation via metal complexation in positive ion mode LC/ESI-MS was performed to simultaneously distinguish CsA and its isomer isoCsA.

Super-Atmospheric Pressure Ion Sources: Application and Coupling to API Mass Spectrometer.

Pressurizing the ionization source to gas pressure greater than atmospheric pressure is a new tactic aimed at further improving the performance of atmospheric pressure ionization (API) sources. In principle, all API sources, such as ESI, APCI and AP-MALDI, can be operated at pressure higher than 1 atm if suitable vacuum interface is available. The gas pressure in the ion source can have different role for different ionization. For example, in the case of ESI, stable electrospray could be sustained for high surface tension liquid (e.g., pure water) under super-atmospheric pressure, owing to the absence of electric discharge. Even for nanoESI, which is known to work well with aqueous solution, its stability and sensitivity were found to be enhanced, particularly in the negative mode when the ion source was pressurized. For the gas phase ionization like APCI, measurement of gaseous compound also showed an increase in ion intensity with the ion source pressure until an optimum pressure at around 4-5 atm. The enhancement was due to the increased collision frequency among reactant ion and analyte that promoted the ion/molecule reaction and a higher intake rate of gas to the mass spectrometer. Because the design of vacuum interface for API instrument is based on the upstream pressure of 1 atm, some coupling aspects need to be considered when connecting the high pressure ion source to the mass spectrometer. Several coupling strategies are discussed in this paper.

Microfluidic Chip Coupled with Thermal Desorption Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Microfluidic chips have been used as platforms for a diversity of research purposes such as for separation and micro-reaction. One of the suitable detectors for microfluidic chip is mass spectrometry. Because microfluidic chips are generally operated in an open air condition, mass spectrometry coupled with atmospheric pressure ion sources can suit the requirement with minimum compromise. In this study, we develop a new interface to couple a microfluidic chip with mass spectrometry. A capillary tip coated with a layer of graphite, capable of absorbing energy of near-infrared (NIR) light is used to interface microfluidic chip with mass spectrometry. An NIR laser diode (λ=808 nm) is used to irradiate the capillary tip for assisting the generation of spray from the eluent of the microfluidic chip. An electrospray is provided to fuse with the spray generated from the microfluidic chip for post-ionization. Transesterification is used as the example to demonstrate the feasibility of using this interface to couple microfluidic chip with mass spectrometry.

A hydrodynamically optimized nano-electrospray ionization source and vacuum interface

The coupling of atmospheric pressure ionization (API) sources like electrospray ionization (ESI) to vacuum based applications like mass spectrometry (MS) or ion beam deposition (IBD) is done by differential pumping, starting with a capillary or pinhole inlet. Because of its low ion transfer efficiency the inlet represents a major bottleneck for these applications. Here we present a nano-ESI vacuum interface optimized to exploit the hydrodynamic drag of the background gas for collimation and the reduction of space charge repulsion. Up to a space charge limit of 40 nA we observe 100% current transmission through a capillary with an inlet and show by MS and IBD experiments that the transmitted ion beams are well defined and free of additional contamination compared to a conventional interface. Based on computational fluid dynamics modelling and ion transport simulations, we show how the specific shape enhances the collimation of the ion cloud. Mass selected ion currents in the nanoampere range available further downstream in high vacuum open many perspectives for the efficient use of electrospray ion beam deposition (ES-IBD) as a surface coating method.

Atmospheric pressure ionization–tandem mass spectrometry of the phenicol drug family

In this work, the mass spectrometry behaviour of the veterinary drug family of phenicols, including chloramphenicol (CAP) and its related compounds thiamphenicol (TAP), florfenicol (FF) and FF amine (FFA), was studied. Several atmospheric pressure ionization sources, electrospray (ESI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and atmospheric pressure photoionization were compared. In all atmospheric pressure ionization sources, CAP, TAP and FF were ionized in both positive and negative modes; while for the metabolite FFA, only positive ionization was possible. In general, in positive mode, [M + H](+) dominated the mass spectrum for FFA, while the other compounds, CAP, TAP and FF, with lower proton affinity showed intense adducts with species present in the mobile phase. In negative mode, ESI and atmospheric pressure photoionization showed the deprotonated molecule [M-H](-), while atmospheric pressure chemical ionization provided the radical molecular ion by electron capture. All these ions were characterized by tandem mass spectrometry using the combined information obtained by multistage mass spectrometry and high-resolution mass spectrometry in a quadrupole-Orbitrap instrument. In general, the fragmentation occurred via cyclization and losses or fragmentation of the N-(alkyl)acetamide group, and common fragmentation pathways were established for this family of compounds. A new chemical structure for the product ion at m/z 257 for CAP, on the basis of the MS(3) and MS(4) spectra is proposed. Thermally assisted ESI and selected reaction monitoring are proposed for the determination of these compounds by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, achieving instrumental detection limits down to 0.1 pg.

Mass spectrometry imaging as a tool for surgical decision‐making

Despite significant advances in image-guided therapy, surgeons are still too often left with uncertainty when deciding to remove tissue. This binary decision between removing and leaving tissue during surgery implies that the surgeon should be able to distinguish tumor from healthy tissue. In neurosurgery, current image-guidance approaches such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with neuronavigation offer a map as to where the tumor should be, but the only definitive method to characterize the tissue at stake is histopathology. Although extremely valuable information is derived from this gold standard approach, it is limited to very few samples during surgery and is not practically used for the delineation of tumor margins. The development and implementation of faster, comprehensive, and complementary approaches for tissue characterization are required to support surgical decision-making--an incremental and iterative process with tumor removed in multiple and often minute biopsies. The development of atmospheric pressure ionization sources makes it possible to analyze tissue specimens with little to no sample preparation. Here, we highlight the value of desorption electrospray ionization as one of many available approaches for the analysis of surgical tissue. Twelve surgical samples resected from a patient during surgery were analyzed and diagnosed as glioblastoma tumor or necrotic tissue by standard histopathology, and mass spectrometry results were further correlated to histopathology for critical validation of the approach. The use of a robust statistical approach reiterated results from the qualitative detection of potential biomarkers of these tissue types. The correlation of the mass spectrometry and histopathology results to MRI brings significant insight into tumor presentation that could not only serve to guide tumor resection, but that is also worthy of more detailed studies on our understanding of tumor presentation on MRI.