Desorption Corona Beam Ionization Source for Mass Spectrometry

摘要

A novel Desorption Corona Beam Ionization (DCBI) source for direct analysis of samples in mass spectrometry is reported. The DCBI source works under ambient conditions without time-consuming sample pretreatment Helium was used as discharge gas and heating of the gas is required for sample desorption. A visible thin corona beam can be formed by using a hollow needle/ring electrode structure with careful adjustment of the experimental conditions. This feature facilitated localizing sampling areas and performing imaging/ profiling experiments. Special features of the DCBI include its good adaptability to Shimadzu's current LCMS systems and its fast temperature scanning capability. Mass spectra for a broad range of compounds (pesticides, veterinary additives, OTC drugs, explosive materials) have been acquired using the DCBI source. For most of the compounds tested, the gas temperature reached can be as high as 400 ℃. The molecular weight of the sample that can be desorbed/ionized is up to 1544 Da, and the LOD for α-hexyl cinnamic aldehyde is as low as 1 pg.