A charge filter instrument includes a field-free drift region, a plurality of charge detection cylinders in the drift region through which ions drifting axially therethrough pass, a plurality of charge sensitive amplifiers each coupled to at least one charge detection cylinder and configured to produce a charge detection signal corresponding to a charge of one or more of ions passing therethrough, a single inlet, single outlet charge deflector or a single inlet, multiple outlet charge steering device coupled to the outlet end of the drift region, means for determining charge magnitudes or charge states of ions drifting axially through the drift region based on the charge detection signals, and means for controlling the charge deflector or the charge steering device to pass through the single outlet or through a specified one of the multiple outlets only ions having a specified charge magnitude or charge state.

A hybrid mass spectrometer comprising: an ion source for generating ions from a sample, a first mass spectral system comprising a nanoelectromechanical mass spectral (NEMS-MS) system, a second mass spectral system including at least one mass analyzer adapted to separate the charged particles according to their mass-to-charge ratios, and an integration zone coupling the first and second mass spectral systems, the integration zone including at least one directional device for controllably routing the ions to a selected one or both of the first and second mass spectral systems for analysis thereby. The second system can be an orbital electrostatic trap system. The ion beam can be electrically directed to one or the other system by ion optics. A chip with resonators can be used with cooling. Uses include analysis of large mass complexes found in biological systems, native single molecule analysis, and size and shape analysis.

A cylindrically-shaped auxiliary electrode and a cylindrically-shaped reflecting electrode are located anterior to a spray flow ejected from an ESI ionization probe. An inlet end of a heated capillary extends into the space between the two electrodes. The auxiliary electrode and heated capillary are grounded, while the reflecting electrode is supplied with a direct-current voltage having the same polarity as measurement target ions. As a result, a reflecting electric field which reflects ions originating from sample components and charged droplets, being carried by the spray flow, is created within the space between the two electrodes. A focusing electric field for focusing ions onto the inlet end is also created in an area near the inlet end. The ions originating from sample components are thereby separated from the gas flow and gathered around the inlet end, to be drawn into the heated capillary and sent into a vacuum chamber.

A method of analysis using mass spectrometry and/or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed comprising: (a) using a first device to generate smoke, aerosol or vapour from a target in vitro or ex vivo cell population; (b) mass analysing and/or ion mobility analysing said smoke, aerosol or vapour, or ions derived therefrom, in order to obtain spectrometric data; and (c) analysing said spectrometric data in order to identify and/or characterise said target cell population or one or more cells and/or compounds present in said target cell population.

An ion guide includes a plurality of lenses arranged in series along a curved central axis. Each lens includes a body and a central opening, and the central openings of the plurality of disks define a curved ion guide region. The ion guide includes an ion deflector configured to apply a radial DC electric field across the ion guide region and along the curved central axis. The ion deflector includes at least one DC voltage source that is configured to apply a positive DC voltage to at least some of the plurality of lenses and a negative DC voltage to at least some of the plurality of lenses.

A secondary ion mass spectrometer comprising a primary ion beam device, and means for collecting, mass filtering and subsequently detecting secondary ions released from a sample due to the sample having been impacted by a plurality of primary ion beams. The secondary ion mass spectrometer is remarkable in that it uses a plurality of primary ion beams in parallel for scanning the surface of the sample.

The present disclosure provides a gas analysis device and a method for detecting sample gas. The gas analysis device includes: an ion mobility spectrometer including an ion mobility tube, an ion gate, a plurality of electrodes, a suppression grid, and a Faraday plate sequentially disposed in the ion mobility tube, wherein the Faraday plate is configured to receive sample ions discharged from the suppression grid, and the Faraday plate is provided with a through hole; a mass spectrometer; a gate valve disposed between the Faraday plate and an ion inlet of the mass spectrometer; and a controller configured to control an opening or closing of the gate valve to allow the sample ions discharged from the suppression grid to flow into the mass spectrometer through the through hole of the Faraday plate when the gate valve is opened.

A method of introducing and ejecting ions from an ion entry/exit device (4) is disclosed. The ion entry/exit device (4) has at least two arrays of electrodes (20,22). The device is operated in a first mode wherein DC potentials are successively applied to successive electrodes of at least one of the electrode arrays ((20,22) in a first direction such that a potential barrier moves along the at least one array in the first direction and drives ions into and/or out of the device in the first direction. The device is also operated in a second mode, wherein DC potentials are successively applied to successive electrodes of at least one of the electrode arrays (20,22) in a second, different direction such that a potential barrier moves along the array in the second direction and drives ions into and/or out of the device in the second direction. The device provides a single, relatively simple device for manipulating ions in multiple directions. For example, the device may be used to load ions into or eject ions from an ion mobility separator in a first direction, and may then be used to cause ions to move through the ion mobility separator in the second direction so as to cause the ions to separate.

A method of spectrometric analysis comprises obtaining one or more sample spectra for an aerosol, smoke or vapour sample. The one or more sample spectra are subjected to pre-processing and then multivariate and/or library based analysis so as to classify the aerosol, smoke or vapour sample. The results of the analysis are used for various surgical or non-surgical applications.

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.