A charge detector includes: a charge sensor that senses a charged analyte and produces a charge signal in response to contact with the charged analyte; a transducer in electrical communication with the charge sensor and that: receives the charge signal from the charge sensor, receives a feedback control signal; and produces a transduction signal in response to receipt of the charge signal and the feedback control signal; and a sensitivity controller in electrical communication with the transducer and that: receives the transduction signal from the transducer; produces the feedback control signal in response to receipt of the transduction signal from the transducer; and produces a charge readout in response to receipt of the transduction signal from the transducer.

Atomic-to-Nanoscale Matter Emission/Flow Regulation Devices, Systems and methods are set forth. An exemplary device can include a through-hole that has a top, and a nozzle configured to facilitate atomic-to-nanoscale matter emission/flow regulation formed in an etchable nozzle substrate. The nozzle can be configured at the smallest cross-section of the through-hole. A bottom can be formed in the nozzle substrate or selectively connected to the nozzle. Systems can include matter transportation/flow regulation columns, printing systems, etching systems and the like through which self-aligned nanodroplets or single-to-finite numbered ionic species/gas phase matter can flow under spontaneous or external excitation conditions (such as voltages) at atmospheric as well as regulated pressures.

A mass spectrometer includes: a probe having an electric conductivity; a probe moving unit configured to move the probe; a high voltage application unit configured to apply a high voltage to the probe located at an ion generation position where the tip of the probe is apart from the sample, so as to generate an ion from the sample adhered to the probe, the ion originating from a component in the sample; and a sample holding unit that includes a sample holder having a plurality of concave portions, each configured to hold the sample, and a base configured to hold the sample holder in a removable manner, the base including a mechanical element configured to move the sample holder in order to sequentially move each of the plurality of concave portions of the sample holder to the sample collection position.

A hydrogen flame ionization detector includes a nozzle configured to eject a sample gas upward, a cylindrical collector provided above the nozzle with a longitudinal direction thereof vertically oriented, the collector being configured to collect ions generated by a hydrogen flame formed at a tip of the nozzle, an insulator provided to hold the collector therein in such a manner as to extend in a radially inward direction of the collector, and a collector housing configured to accommodate the collector therein in such a manner as to surround an outer peripheral surface of the collector while holding a peripheral portion of the insulator. An accumulation suppression structure is provided above the insulator to suppress a material emitted from an upper end of the collector from being accumulated in such a manner as to shorten an insulation distance between the collector and the collector housing.

A method of mass and/or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed that includes ionising analyte from a sample so as to generate a plurality of ions, separating precursor ions from first fragment and/or other ions of the plurality of ions, fragmenting or reacting at least some of the precursor ions using a fragmentation, reaction or collision device so as to generate second fragment ions, and then analysing at least some ions that emerge from the fragmentation, reaction or collision device. The sample is classified and/or identified based on the analysis of the second fragment ions.

The present invention relates to a method for determining the origin of glutamic acid in a sample and, in a broader sense, relates to a method for determining the origin of an amino acid. The present invention makes it possible to measure the stable isotope ratio, with a considerably higher accuracy than that of conventional methods, by measuring the δ13C of glutamic acid (amino acid) by elemental analysis-stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) and measuring the δ15N by gas chromatography-stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS). In addition, the present invention makes it possible to determine the origin of glutamic acid (amino acid) by comparing the stable isotope ratio of the glutamic acid (amino acid) whose origin is unclear with the stable isotope ratio of glutamic acid (amino acid) whose origin is clear.

The present invention relates to a method for determining the origin of glutamic acid in a sample and, in a broader sense, relates to a method for determining the origin of an amino acid. The present invention makes it possible to measure the stable isotope ratio, with a considerably higher accuracy than that of conventional methods, by measuring the δ13C of glutamic acid (amino acid) by elemental analysis-stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) and measuring the δ15N by gas chromatography-stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS). In addition, the present invention makes it possible to determine the origin of glutamic acid (amino acid) by comparing the stable isotope ratio of the glutamic acid (amino acid) whose origin is unclear with the stable isotope ratio of glutamic acid (amino acid) whose origin is clear.

Techniques and apparatus for evaluating analytical device performance and data quality are described. In one embodiment, for example, an apparatus may include at least one memory, and logic coupled to the at least one memory. The logic may be configured to generate an analysis method to be performed by an analytical device, the analysis method comprising a plurality of method segments comprising at least one performance assessment process and at least one sample analysis process, and link the at least one performance assessment process with the at least one sample analysis process. Other embodiments are described.

A Fast Faraday Cup includes a group of electrodes including a grounded electrode having a through hole and a collector electrode configured with a blind hole that functions a collector hole. The electrodes are configured to allow a beam (e.g., a non-relativistic beam) to fall onto the grounded electrode so that the through hole cuts a beamlet that flies into the collector hole and facilitates measurement of the longitudinal distribution of particle charge density in the beam. The diameters, depths, spacing and alignment of the collector hole and the through hole are controllable to enable the Fast Faraday day cup to operate with a fast response time (e.g., fine time resolution) and capture secondary particles.

A mass spectrometry method including: focusing an excitation beam by an excitation beam optical system at a predetermined position of the sample stage, and recording a position of a beam irradiation system including the excitation beam optical system and a movable sample stage at that time as a reference position and a temperature of the beam irradiation system at that time as a reference temperature (Steps 1 and 2); acquiring temperature dependency information which is information representing a change in position of the excitation beam optical system and the sample stage with respect to a change in temperature of the beam irradiation system and recording the temperature dependency information (Step 3); and correcting a focusing position of an excitation beam using the moving mechanism based on a difference between a temperature of the beam irradiation system during use and the reference temperature and the temperature dependency information (Step 7).