Presented herein are apparatuses for use in capillary separations. An apparatus includes a coupling that integrates a capillary with a voltage source, a sheath liquid system, a fluid exit port, and a manifold. The coupling may be an elbow connector or equivalent. The manifold receives incident light from an incident light input, and emitted light is collected by a collected light output. The capillary enters the manifold at an input for the capillary, traverses the coupling, and terminates at the fluid exit port, for example an electrospray emitter. The capillary may also enter the manifold at an input for the capillary and terminates inside the manifold.

A multi-reflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometer comprises a pair of parallel aligned ion mirrors and a set of periodic lenses for confining ion packets along the drift z-direction. To compensate for time-of-flight spherical aberrations T|zz created by the periodic lenses, at least one set of electrodes are disposed within the apparatus, forming an accelerating or reflecting electrostatic fields which are curved in the z-direction in order to form local negative T|zz aberration. The structure may be formed within an accelerator, within flinging fields or intentionally and locally curved fields of ion mirrors, within electrostatic sector interface, or at curved surface of ion to electron converter at the detector.

A mass spectrometry method comprises: introducing a first packet of ions into an electrostatic trap mass analyzer through a set of electrostatic lenses, wherein, during the introducing of the first packet, either the lenses are operated in a first mode of operation or an injection voltage of a first pre-determined magnitude is applied to an electrode of the mass analyzer; mass analyzing the first ion packet using the mass analyzer; introducing a second packet of ions into the mass analyzer through the set of lenses, wherein, during the introducing of the second packet, either the lenses are operated in a second mode of operation or an injection voltage of a second pre-determined magnitude is applied to the electrode of the mass analyzer; and mass analyzing the second packet of ions using the electrostatic trap mass analyzer.

A tip including an alloy of platinum and an alloying element chosen from gold, palladium, ruthenium, osmium, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, silver, chromium, manganese, titanium, niobium, scandium, vanadium, yttrium, zirconium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, technetium, cadmium, hafnium, rhenium, less than 5 wt. % of iridium, less than 5 wt. % of rhodium, greater than 20 wt. % iridium, greater than 20 wt. % rhodium, and a combination thereof, relative to the total weight of the alloy is disclosed. An interface cone can include a base and the tip.

The invention generally relates to apparatuses for focusing ions at or above ambient pressure and methods of use thereof. In certain embodiments, the invention provides an apparatus for focusing ions that includes an electrode having a cavity, at least one inlet within the electrode configured to operatively couple with an ionization source, such that discharge generated by the ionization source is injected into the cavity of the electrode, and an outlet. The cavity in the electrode is shaped such that upon application of voltage to the electrode, ions within the cavity are focused and directed to the outlet, which is positioned such that a proximal end of the outlet receives the focused ions and a distal end of the outlet is open to ambient pressure.

Disclosed herein are various methods and apparatus for performing charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS). In particular, techniques are disclosed for monitoring a detector signal from a CDMS device to determine how many ions are present in the ion trap (10) of the CDMS device. For example, if no ions are present the measurement can then be terminated early. Similarly, if more than one ion is present, the measurement can be terminated early, or ions can be removed from the trap (10) until only a single ion remains. Techniques are also provided for increasing the probability of there being a single ion in the trap (10). A technique for attenuating an ion beam is also provided.

The present invention relates to the high resolution imaging of samples using imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) and to the imaging of biological samples by imaging mass cytometry (IMCTM) in which labelling atoms are detected by IMS. LA-ICP-MS (a form of IMS in which the sample is ablated by a laser, the ablated material is then ionised in an inductively coupled plasma before the ions are detected by mass spectrometry) has been used for analysis of various substances, such as mineral analysis of geological samples, analysis of archaeological samples, and imaging of biological substances. However, traditional LA-ICP-MS systems and methods may not provide high resolution. Described herein are methods and systems for high resolution IMS and IMC.

In some embodiments, a method for optimizing performance of a mass spectrometer comprises using an ion source to generate ions, collisionally cooling the ions within an ion guide, directing said ions from the ion guide through at least one ion lens to a downstream mass analyzer, ramping a DC voltage applied to the ion lens, performing a mass analysis of the ions within the mass analyzer while the DC voltage applied to the ion lens is ramped, estimating performance of the mass spectrometer by measuring one or more characteristics of at least one of an ion signal and the voltage ramp, and adjusting a DC voltage applied to said at least one lens element based on said measured one or more characteristics of at least one of the ion signal and the voltage ramp so as to enhance performance of the mass spectrometer.

A mass spectrometer is disclosed comprising two vacuum chambers maintained at different pressures. The two vacuum chambers are interconnected by a differential pumping aperture. The effective area of the opening between the two vacuum chambers may be varied by rotating a disk having an aperture in front of the differential pumping aperture so as to vary the gas flow rate through the opening and between the two chambers.

A mass spectrometer or ion mobility spectrometer is disclosed comprising means for detecting a blockage in an inlet orifice arranged between an ion source and a vacuum chamber. The blockage is detected as a result of a reduction in pressure within the vacuum chamber. This change in pressure is detected indirectly by monitoring the amount of power that a vacuum pump is using, the amount of current that a vacuum pump is drawing, the temperature of a vacuum pump or a region in proximity to the vacuum pump, or the flow rate of gas out of a vacuum pump.