The present invention relates to a preconcentrator for vapors and particles collected from air. The vapor preconcentrator is made from plural layer of coils. The coil is made of resistance alloy. The pitch size of the coil is made to precisely trap/filter out certain size of the particles during preconcentration. Multiple coils could be made with different pitch sizes to achieve multiple step filtrations. When the sample flow enters the preconcentrator chamber, it passes through the coils. The particles of different sizes are trapped on different layer of coils. The vapor sample can be trapped on any coils when interacted with the coil surface. They could be trapped without any affinitive coating as the preconcentrator is at relatively low temperature. Different coils or different sections of the coil can be coated with different material to trap chemicals of different classes. During the desorption process, the coils are flash heated with controlled temperature ramping speed to evaporate the trapped chemicals. Various configurations, constructions, and methods of operation are presented.

A method of processing ions in a mass spectrometer comprises introducing one or more precursor ions into a collision cell to fragment at least a portion of said ions, where the collision cell is configured to confine ions having m/z ratios above a selected threshold (i.e., high m/z ions). The ions are released from the collision cell and introduced into a downstream analyzer ion trap to radially confine high m/z ions. The collision cell and the analyzer ion trap are configured to confine ions having m/z ratios below said selected threshold (i.e., low m/z ions). Ions are introduced into the collision cell and undergo fragmentation. The fragment ions are released from the collision cell and introduced into the analyzer ion trap, thus loading the analyzer ion trap with both high m/z and low m/z ions. The ions are released from the analyzer ion trap and detected by a detector.

A method is disclosed comprising obtaining physical or other non-mass spectrometric data from one or more regions of a target using a probe. The physical or other non-mass spectrometric data may be used to determine one or more regions of interest of the target. An ambient ionisation ion source may then used to generate an aerosol, smoke or vapour from one or more regions of the target.

A laser desorption/ionization method includes: a first process of preparing a sample support body that includes a substrate in which a plurality of through-holes are formed and a conductive layer that is provided on the first surface of the substrate; a second process of mounting a frozen sample on a mounting surface of a mount under a sub-freezing atmosphere, and fixing the sample support body to the mount in a state in which the second surface is in contact with the frozen sample; a third process of thawing the sample, and moving components of the thawed sample toward the first surface via the plurality of through-holes due to a capillary phenomenon; and a fourth process of irradiating the first surface with a laser beam while applying a voltage to the conductive layer, and ionizing the components that have moved toward the first surface.

A direct sample introduction device includes: a pre-evacuating chamber that has an internal space extending in a first direction through which a sample introduction probe extends in the first direction; a first ventilation unit that is allowed to be opened and closed, with a first end thereof being connected to the pre-evacuating chamber; and a second ventilation unit a first end of which is connected to the pre-evacuating chamber and a second end of which is connected to a low pressure source.

A method of mass or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed that uses the Leidenfrost effect to cause a liquid to be repelled away from a heated surface so as to levitate above there-above. The repelled liquid is urged so as to move along the surface in a predetermined direction, for example, by the geometric configuration of the heated surface.

A biological sample is placed on a sample stage (8). The sample stage (8) includes a tray (82), a heater (83), and a temperature sensor (84). On the tray (82), a placement surface (821) on which a biological sample is placed is formed. The heater (83) heats a surface of the tray (82) on an opposite side to the placement surface (821) side. The temperature sensor (84) is provided on an opposite side of the heater (83) to the tray (82) side. The tray (82) is attachable to and detachable from the heater (83).

A method is disclosed comprising obtaining or acquiring chemical or other non-mass spectrometric data from one or more regions of a target using a chemical sensor. The chemical or other non-mass spectrometric data may be used to determine one or more regions of interest of the target. An ambient ionisation ion source may then be used to generate aerosol, smoke or vapour from one or more regions of the target.

The disclosure provides a thermal desorption (TD) tube sampler. The sampler comprises a first connector configured to reversibly connect to a TD tube containing a sample, and a second connector configured to couple to a direct injection mass spectrometer. The TD tube sampler is configured to desorb a sample in a TD tube connected thereto, and feed the desorbed sample from the TD tube to a direct injection mass spectrometer such that the desorbed sample does not pass through a cold trap.

A rapid online analyzer for a .sup.14C-AMS, comprising: a solid sample processing module, an atmospheric sample collection and processing module, a microflow control module, an AMS module and an automatic control module. Sample preparation and AMS measurement are combined, a solid sample is directly converted into CO.sub.2 gas by an element analyzer and then enters an AMS for measurement, and an atmospheric sample is collected in real time for analysis by the AMS, such that quick and efficient analysis of the solid sample and the atmospheric sample is realized.