Mass spectrometry systems or assemblies therefore include an ionizer that includes at least one planar conductor, a mass analyzer with a planar electrode assembly, and a detector comprising at least one planar conductor. The ionizer, the mass analyzer and the detector are attached together in a compact stack assembly. The stack assembly has a perimeter that bounds an area that is between about 0.01 mm.sup.2 to about 25 cm.sup.2 and the stack assembly has a thickness that is between about 0.1 mm to about 25 mm.

An electronic device 1 for analyzing a gas composition, which is present in an environment A at an environment pressure Pa, is described. The device 1 is portable and comprises a gas sampling module 7, an ion filtering module 8 and an ion detecting module 9. The sampling module 7 is configured to adjust an input gaseous flow Fi of gaseous particles from the environment A and to ionize said gaseous particles and to generate an ion flow I having an ion composition representative of the gas composition to be analyzed. The ion filtering module 8 is configured to controllably select at least one type of ions present in the ion flow I and to generate a corresponding at least one homogeneous ion beam I. The ion detecting module 9 is configured to measure the intensity of such least one ion beam I.

Two complementary approaches to the science of IMS technology, IMS and differential IMS (DIMS), are combined into a single instrument to provide improvements in interference rejection without sacrificing detection sensitivity. The technology is applicable to, inter alia, the analysis of trace quantities of toxic or otherwise dangerous organic chemical materials. The approach improves both sensitivity and specificity (interference rejection) of field detection instrumentation.

A lenslet based integral field spectrograph (IFS) may have a design that makes better use of the detector pixels by placing adjacent spectra next to each other rather than staggering the spectra. Such a design maintains the main compactness and simplicity of prior lenslet array based IFSs, but improves the detector efficiency, which is rather low in conventional lenslet array based IFSs.

The invention generally relates to enclosed desorption electrospray ionization probes, systems, and methods. In certain embodiments, the invention provides a source of DESI-active spray, in which a distal portion of the source is enclosed within a transfer member such that the DESI-active spray is produced within the transfer member.

An analytical device includes: a regulator to which a gas storage container attached and which is held by a holder; a gas introduction chamber to which gas in the gas storage container is supplied through the regulator; and a movement mechanism that moves the holder so that the regulator moves between a measurement position and a non-measurement position.

A start-up routine for a mass spectrometer is performed automatically upon switching ON the mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer comprises a plurality of functional modules connected thereto, each module operable to perform a predetermined function of the mass spectrometer in use. The start-up routine comprises detecting which functional modules are present in the set of a plurality of functional modules connected to the mass spectrometer, and performing one or more steps of the start-up routine based upon the results of the detection. The mass spectrometer automatically determines whether configuration information is stored locally in respect of each one of the detected functional modules, and, for the or each one of the detected functional modules for which such information is found to be stored locally, automatically uses the information in configuring the mass spectrometer, and, for any detected functional module(s) for which such information is not found to be stored locally, automatically obtains configuration information for the detected functional module(s) from a remote server, and uses the information in configuring the mass spectrometer.

A mass spectrometer system includes a sample injection device defining a sample injection aperture. The system also includes an ion trap defining an ion outlet aperture. The ion trap is coupled to the sample injection device. The system further includes a detector positioned downstream of the ion outlet aperture. The system also includes an ion source coupled to the ion trap. The ion source is configured to ionize a sample injected into the ion trap and generate a plurality of ionized molecules within the ion trap. The ion trap is configured to maintain the plurality of ionized molecules therein while a plurality of neutral molecules migrate out of the ion trap until a predetermined pressure is attained in the ion trap.

A portable, stand-alone microfluidic interrogation device including a microprocessor and a touch-screen display. The touch-screen display can receive one or more user input to select a particular particle interrogation procedure, and subsequently show interrogation results. A microfluidic path extending through the interrogation device includes alignment structure that defines an interrogation zone in which particles carried in a fluid are urged toward single-file travel. Operable alignment structure may define sheath-, or non-sheath fluid flow. Desirably, a portion of the alignment structure is removable from the device in a tool-free procedure. The device may operate under the Coulter principle, and/or detect Stokes' shift phenomena, and/or other optically-based signal(s).

The invention generally relates to enclosed desorption electrospray ionization probes, systems, and methods. In certain embodiments, the invention provides a source of DESI-active spray, in which a distal portion of the source is enclosed within a transfer member such that the DESI-active spray is produced within the transfer member.