Instrumentation: New Developments in Ionization and Sampling

The six presentations scheduled for Tuesday will focus on advances in ionization and sampling techniques in mass spectrometry, including sub-ambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray, synchronized discharge ionization, the use of a backpack mass spectrometer, surface acoustic wave nebulization, in-line mass spectrometry analysis, and atmospheric pressure laser-induced acoustic desorption chemical ionization.

Presenting first will be Ioan Marginean of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington. Marginean, whose talk is titled “Increasing Analyte Ion Charge States via Sub-ambient Pressure Ionization with Nanoelectrospray,” will discuss the sub-ambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray source can generate ions with higher charge states than those produced by a typical ESI ion source with a heated capillary inlet interface.

The next presenter will be Chien-Hsun Chen of the Department of BME, Perdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Chen’s talk, titled “Synchronized Discharge Ionization (SDI) for Analysis of VOC in Air using Miniature Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer” will detail the development of an SDI method for quantitatively monitoring the volatile organic compounds in air using a miniature ion trap mass spectrometer with a discontinuous atmospheric pressure interface.

Following Chen, Paul I. Hendricks of the Department of Chemistry Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, will present “Backpack Mass Spectrometer with Hand-held Sampling Probe for In-field Analysis–Instrument Performance.” Hendricks will discuss the performance of the field portable mass spectrometer in relation to advances in plasma-based ambient ionization sources used in conjunction with MS-MS-capable mass spectrometers, which allow for rapid and selective target compound ionization from complex matrices.

Andrew Dennison of SIRCAMS, University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, UK will present “Development and Application of Surface Acoustic Wave (SAWN) Nebulizatin for Top-Down Protein Fragmentation.” Dennison’s talk will demonstrate intact protein mass spectrometry and top-down fragmentation from SAWN ionized samples.

The next presentation, by Andrea Kirby of the Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, is titled “In-Line Analysis for Digital Microfluidics with Nanoelectrspray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.” The focus of Kirby’s talk will be the combination of digital microfluidics with a newly developed emitter for nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry for in-line sample processing and MS analysis.

The final presentation will be given by Leonard Nyadong, of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. “Atmospheric Pressure Laser-Induced Acoustic Desorption Chemical Ionization (AP/LIAD-Cl) Mass Spectrometry for Saturated Hydrocarbon Analysis,” is the title of Nyadong’s talk, which will present AP/LIAD-Cl with non-thermal sample vaporization and use of O2 carrier/reagent gas for chemical ionization, as a new approach for mass analysis of saturated hydrocarbon mixtures without fragmentation.