Development and Application of a Brush-Spray Derived from a Calligraphy-Brush-Style Synthetic Hair Pen for Use in ESI/MS

摘要

The development of a novel type of a sampling/ionization kit for use in electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry is reported. Using a small calligraphy-brush-style synthetic hair pen (nylon-brush), and analogous to paper-spray mass spectrometry, the analytes can be collected, elution/desorption and then ionized from the surface of the nylon-brush. The body of the kit was produced by means of a commercial 3D-printer, in which ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) was used as the starting material. Meanwhile, a small nylon-brush was embedded inside a 3D-printed plastic cell, in which a solvent was supplied to rinse the brush by means of capillary action. The size and weight of the kit were 1?g and 4?cm, respectively. The kit is disposable and it has various functions, including non-invasive sampling, sample-evaporation and ionization. As a result, when a type of pesticide was selected as the test sample (dimethoate; C_(5)H_(12)NO_(3)PS_(2)), the limit of detection was determined to be 0.1?μg/mL. Collecting the pesticide from a leaf-surface (lettuce) was also successful. The process for fabricating the nylon-brush kit and the optimized experimental conditions are reported herein.