An apparatus for performing ambient ionization mass and/or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a substantially cylindrical, tubular, rod-shaped, coil-shaped, helical or spiral-shaped collision assembly; and a first device arranged and adapted to direct analyte, smoke, fumes, liquid, gas, surgical smoke, aerosol or vapor onto said collision assembly.

An apparatus is disclosed comprising a first device for generating aerosol, smoke or vapour from one or more regions of a target, an inlet conduit to an ion analyser or mass spectrometer, the inlet conduit having an inlet through which the aerosol, smoke or vapour passes, and a Venturi pump arrangement arranged and adapted to direct the aerosol, smoke or vapour towards the inlet.

An imaging mass spectrometer according to one aspect of the present invention includes an analysis executing section (1) configured to collect data by executing predetermined analysis on each of a plurality of micro regions set in a two-dimensional measurement region (50) on a sample (50) or a three-dimensional measurement region in the sample; a first image creating section (21) that uses the data obtained by the analysis executing section (1) to create one or a plurality of first distribution images each reflecting a distribution of one or a plurality of specific components included in the sample (50); a formula storage section (23) that stores, as a formula, a chemical reaction formula including at least the one or a plurality of specific components as elements, or a calculation formula including an amount of the specific component as element; a signal value calculating section (25) that calculates different signal values from the signal values in the micro regions constituting the one or the plurality of first distribution images by using the formula acquired from the formula storage section (23) in response to a user's instruction; and a second image creating section (26) that creates a second distribution image based on a calculation result.

A method for the repeated analysis of a sample bearing location. The sample bearing location may include, for instance, a sampled point in a tissue slice that is spatially and temporally correlated to the original slice. The slice may be in whole, or in part, a complete item or a portion of a complete item such as, for example, a human organ. The method improves the analysis process, such as mass spectrometry analysis, by providing a much more complete characterization of the target. The method also allows for the splitting of the sample and chemical/physical alteration of the aliquots for enhanced chemical analysis.

Imaging by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) requires that a sample be encased in an amorphous solid, such as amorphous ice. In current cryo-EM preparation systems, once the sample has been deposited on an EM grid and coated in the amorphous solid, the EM grid must be removed from vacuum and then transferred into the vacuum of the cryo-EM system. As a result, samples deposited on the grid are exposed to damage and contamination. The present invention provides improved EM grid handling systems and devices compatible with advanced cryo-EM sample preparation techniques and which reduce or eliminate exposure of the sample on the grid to atmosphere and elevated temperatures. These methods and devices will also significantly reduce handling time and complexities associated with cryo-EM sample preparation.

Provided is an ionization method for ionizing a sample 21 adhered to a tip of a probe 11 that is electrically conductive, by applying an ionization voltage to the probe 11 to electrically charge the sample 21. The ionization method includes: subjecting the probe 11 to treatment to make a surface of the probe 11 homogenous; causing adhesion of the sample 21 to the tip of the probe 11; and ionizing the sample 21 by applying the ionization voltage to the probe 11 to electrically charge the sample 21. The treatment for making the surface of the probe 11 homogenous can be implemented by, for example, causing corona discharge at the probe 11.

Apparatus for laser induced ablation spectroscopy (LIBS) is disclosed. An apparatus can have a computer, a pulsed laser and a lightguide fiber bundle that is subdivided into branches. One branch can convey a first portion of the light to a first optical spectrometer and a different branch can convey a second portion of the light to another optical spectrometer. The first spectrometer can be relatively wideband to analyze a relative wide spectral segment and the other spectrometer can be high dispersion to measure minor concentrations. The apparatus can further comprise an unbranched lightguide fiber bundle to provide more light to a low sensitivity spectrometer. The apparatus can include an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer ICP-MS and a computer instructions operable to provide normalized LIBS/ICP-MS composition analyses.

A method of analysis using mass spectrometry and/or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed. The method comprises: using a first device to generate smoke, aerosol or vapour from a target comprising or consisting of a microbial population; mass analysing and/or ion mobility analysing said smoke, aerosol or vapour, or ions derived therefrom, in order to obtain spectrometric data; and analysing said spectrometric data in order to analyse said microbial population.

The disclosure features systems and methods that include: exposing a biological sample to an ion beam that is incident on the sample at a first angle to a plane of the sample by translating a position of the ion beam on the sample in a first direction relative to a projection of a direction of incidence of the ion beam on the sample; after each translation of the ion beam in the first direction, adjusting a focal length of an ion source that generates the ion beam; and measuring and analyzing secondary ions generated from the sample by the ion beam after adjustment of the focal length to determine mass spectral information for the sample, where the sample is labeled with one or more mass tags and the mass spectral information includes populations of the mass tags at locations of the sample.

The invention generally relates to mass spectral analysis. In certain embodiments, methods of the invention involve analyzing a lipid containing sample using a mass spectrometry technique, in which the technique utilizes a liquid phase that does not destroy native tissue morphology during analysis.