A method of ion mobility spectrometry and an ion mobility spectrometer. The method comprises introducing a packet of sample ions into a chamber, the sample ions including an ion for analysis and the chamber housing a drift region and a deflection region. The sample ions are passed on a drift trajectory through the drift region towards the deflection region, wherein the sample ions separate according to their ion mobility as they pass through the drift region. The sample ions received from the drift region are then passed on a deflection trajectory through the deflection region whilst changing the direction of the sample ions on the deflection trajectory to travel towards the same drift region or a further drift region.

An object of the invention is to provide a mass spectrometer capable of preventing a sample from remaining inside an ion source container for a long time. In the mass spectrometer according to the invention, in addition to a first gas used for ionizing an ion source, a second gas flowing toward an exhaust unit along an inner wall of the ion source container is supplied inside the ion source container (see FIG. 1).

There are provided an ion source that can accurately and efficiently grasp whether a tip end position on a capillary downstream side is proper and a control method therefor. An ion source according to an embodiment of the present invention measures an electric current generated due to the application of a voltage to a capillary by a power supply when a sample is not introduced into the capillary. When the electric current is within tolerance, the ion source outputs projection amount information expressing that the projection amount of the capillary is proper, and the ion source outputs the projection amount information expressing that the projection amount is improper when the projection amount is not within the tolerance.

A system for the mass spectrometry analysis of an analyte includes a droplet ejection device, a spray head comprising a spray tip for ejecting the solvent as a spray, and a solvent delivery conduit for delivering solvent to the spray tip. The spray head includes a droplet inlet opening communicating with the surrounding atmosphere for receiving liquid droplets comprising the analyte. The droplet ejection device selectively ejects a liquid analyte droplet comprising the analyte through a surrounding atmosphere and the droplet inlet opening into a solvent flowing through the solvent delivery conduit. A method for the mass spectrometry analysis of an analyte is also disclosed.

A method for the identification and localization of small molecule species in a histologic thin tissue section comprises the steps of: a) acquiring a mass/mobility image of the tissue section and generating a mass/mobility map of the small molecule species of interest for each pixel of the image; b) providing a second sample of the same tissue and extracting the small molecules of interest, separating them, and acquiring mass and ion mobility spectra from the separated small molecules; c) identifying the small molecules of interest using corresponding reference databases; and d) assigning identified small molecules to entries in the mass/mobility maps of the first tissue section by comparison of ion masses and mobilities of the identified species to those of the second thin tissue section.

Methods and system for protein characterization using online chromatography and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry are provided.

The present disclosure is applicable to the field of analytical instruments, and provides a multifunctional probe for sample pickup, delivery and electrospray ionization used for direct sample analysis with a liquid-phase mass spectrometer. The multifunctional probe comprises a needle body and a tip part, wherein said tip part is continuously contracted from the needle body in whole or in part, and said tip part is provided with a solution carrying structure. The present disclosure further provides a combined sample introduction and electrospray device for liquid-phase mass spectrometry comprising said multifunctional probe, further comprising a mechanical arm and an ion source with a sealed chamber and a needle port on the sealed chamber.

An optimal value is calculated for at least one parameter of an ADE device, an OPI, or an ion source device. For each value of a plurality of parameter values for at least one parameter of the ADE device, the OPI, or the ion source device, three steps are performed using a processor. First, the at least one parameter is set to the value. Second, the ADE device, the OPI, the ion source device, and a mass spectrometer are instructed to produce one or more intensity versus time mass peaks for a sample. Third, a feature value is calculated for at least one feature of the one or more intensity versus time mass peaks. A plurality of feature values corresponding to the plurality of parameter values is produced. An optimal value is calculated for the at least one parameter from the plurality of feature values.

Provided is an ion source achieving high sensitivity and high robustness while executing a plurality of types of ionization schemes. To this end, a hybrid ion source (1) includes: a chamber (24); a first ion source (2) to spray a sample solution (5) for ionization; a second ion source (3) to ionize droplets and/or a gas component sprayed from the first ion source (2); a first electrode (11) to introduce a first ion (7) generated by the first ion source (2), and a second ion generated by the second ion source (3); and an exhaust pump (27) that generates air flow (26) in a direction from a first space area (23) where the first ion (7) is generated to a second space area (19) in the second ion source (3) where the second ion is generated.

A method of producing ions from a sample is disclosed. The method comprises directing a spray of droplets onto a sample, and causing droplets comprising analyte from the sample to impact upon a surface so as to generate analyte ions.