An ion guide may comprise a set of plate electrodes, each plate electrode having a plurality of apertures formed therethrough. The set of plate electrodes are spatially arranged such that a relative positioning of each plurality of apertures of a respective plate electrode of the set of plate electrodes and respective adjacent plate electrodes of the set of plate electrodes defines a continuous ion flight path through the respective plurality of apertures of each plate electrode of the set of plate electrodes. The continuous ion flight path has a helical-based and/or spiral-based shape.

A method of ion imaging is disclosed that includes automatically sampling a plurality of different locations on a sample using a front device which is arranged and adapted to generate aerosol, smoke or vapour from the sample. Mass spectral data and/or ion mobility data corresponding to each location is obtained and the obtained mass spectral data and/or ion mobility data is used to construct, train or improved a sample classification model.

A method is disclosed comprising providing a biological sample on a swab, directing a spray of charged droplets onto a surface of the swab in order to generate a plurality of analyte ions, and analysing the analyte ions.

Provided is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer including: a loop-orbit defining electrode (21) including an outer electrode (211) and inner electrode (212) located on the outside and inside of a loop orbit, respectively; an ion inlet (22); an ion outlet (23) provided in either the outer or inner electrode; a loop-flight voltage applier (28) configured to apply loop-flight voltages to the outer and inner electrodes, respectively; a set of deflecting electrodes (24) facing each other across a section of an n-th loop orbit, where n is a predetermined number, the deflecting electrodes including a first portion (241) which faces the n-th loop orbit and a second portion (242) which includes other portions; and a voltage applier (29) configured to apply deflecting voltages to the first portion so as to reverse the drifting direction of the ions flying in the n-th loop orbit, and a voltage to the second portion so as to create the loop-flight electric field.

The invention provides hybrid mass spectrometric systems which comprise an ion source, a first trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) analyzer and a mass analyzer, wherein the TIMS analyzer is located and operated in a first vacuum chamber at an elevated pressure above 500 Pa, and methods for operating the hybrid mass spectrometric systems.

An ion detector (4) includes a shield electrode (42) between an aperture plate (41) and a conversion dynode (43). The shield electrode (42) has a rectilinearly-moving particle block wall (42a) positioned on an extension line (C′) extending from the central axis (C) of a quadrupole mass filter (3), and an ion attracting electric field adjustment wall (42b) inclined by a predetermined angle θ (acute angle) with respect to the extension line (C′). In the ion attracting electric field adjustment wall (42b) is provided an ion passing aperture (42c). The rectilinearly-moving particles, such as neutral particles, which are ejected from the quadrupole mass filter (3), are blocked by the rectilinearly-moving particle block wall (42a), thereby reducing noises caused by the rectilinearly-moving particles. Meanwhile, the potential of the ion attracting electric field adjustment wall (42b) corresponds to equipotential surfaces in a strong electric field formed by the conversion dynode (43), and thus the condition of the strong electric field is not remarkably changed from the state where no shield electrode (42) is provided. Therefore, the effect of drawing ions is exhibited, thereby maintaining the high ion-detection efficiency.

A method of analysis using mass and/or ion mobility spectrometry or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed comprising: using a first device to generate aerosol, smoke or vapour from one or more regions of a first target of biological material; and el mass and/or ion mobility analysing and/or ion mobility analysing said aerosol, smoke, or vapour, or ions derived therefrom so as to obtain first spectrometric data. The method may use an ambient ionisation method.

A mass spectrometer comprising: a multi-reflecting time of flight (MRTOF) mass analyser or mass separator having two gridless ion mirrors 2 that are elongated in a first dimension (Z-dimension) and configured to reflect ions multiple times in a second orthogonal dimension (X-dimension) as the ions travel in the first dimension; the spectrometer configured to operate in: (i) a first mode for ions having a first rate of interaction with background gas molecules in the mass analyser or separator, such that the ions are reflected a first number of times between the ion mirrors 2; and (ii) a second mode for ions having a second, higher rate of interaction with background gas molecules in the mass analyser or separator, such that ions are reflected a second, lower number of times between the ion mirrors 2.

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.

The present disclosure includes a computer-implemented method for filtering out at least one selected ion from an ion beam by the following steps: determining the selected ion with a selected ion mass, selected charge and/or selected mass to charge ratio; determining at least one predefinable region with predefinable ions, whose ion masses, charges and/or mass to charge ratios are greater than or smaller than the selected ion mass, the selected charge and/or the selected mass to charge ratio of the selected ion; isolating the predefinable region of the ion beam along a trajectory of the ion beam, and detecting the predefinable ions within the predefinable region. In addition, the present disclosure includes to a computer program which is configured to perform a method according to the present disclosure and to a computer program product having the computer program.