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 (IMC) 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.

The present invention relates to compact, low noise, ultra-short pulse sources based on fiber amplifiers, and various applications thereof. At least one implementation includes an optical amplification system having a fiber laser seed source producing seed pulses at a repetition rate corresponding to the fiber laser cavity round trip time. A nonlinear pulse transformer, comprising a fiber length greater than about 10 m, receives a seed pulse at its input and produces a spectrally broadened output pulse at its output, the output pulse having a spectral bandwidth which is more than 1.5 times a spectral bandwidth of a seed pulse. A fiber power amplifier receives and amplifies spectrally broadened output pulses. A pulse compressor is configured to temporally compress spectrally broadened pulses amplified by said power amplifier. Applications include micro-machining, ophthalmology, molecular desorption or ionization, mass-spectroscopy, and/or laser-based, biological tissue processing.

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 (IMC) 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.

The embodiments relate to a method and an apparatus for the molecular atomic analysis of a fluid in the gaseous state, in particular the method includes introducing a fluid in the gaseous state into a collection chamber having a predetermined internal volume V and generating a laser beam through a laser device. The method may also include focusing the beam onto the fluid sited in the collection chamber, in order to create an electric field in at least a portion V of the internal volume V, so as to excite the electrons residing on the atoms and molecules present in said fluid in the gaseous state, causing an atomic/molecular alteration of the fluid itself in said portion V. The method provides detecting the elements emitted after focusing the beam on the fluid, through detection devices and analyzing the elements detected by the detection devices using a processing unit.

In order to simplify a power circuit, a linear ion trap (2) according to the present invention includes: two first rod electrodes (21, 22) facing each other across a central axis (C), each of the first rod electrodes having an opening (21a, 22a); two second rod electrodes (23, 24) facing each other across the central axis, in a direction different from the direction in which the two first rod electrodes face each other; and a pair of end electrodes (25, 26) respectively arranged outside the two end faces of the two first rod electrodes and the two second rod electrodes. A controller (7) is provided to control a radio-frequency voltage supplier (4) which applies a radio-frequency voltage for capturing ions to each of the two second rod electrodes, and an excitation voltage supplier (5) which applies a voltage for resonance excitation to each of the two first rod electrodes.

A sample support body is used for ionizing a component of a sample. The sample support body includes: a substrate; a porous layer provided on the substrate and having a front surface on a side opposite to the substrate; and a partition portion partitioning the front surface into a first region and a second region. The porous layer includes a main body layer having a plurality of holes opening to the front surface. The partition portion includes a partition groove formed on the front surface so as to pass between the first region and the second region.