| 摘要 |
A method of mass or ion mobility spectrometry comprises supplying liquid 2 towards a surface 4 and heating the surface 4 to a temperature that is sufficiently high to cause a portion of the liquid 2 to vaporise. The vapour is formed between the surface 4 and the liquid 2 such that the liquid 2 is repelled from the heated surface 4 by film boiling or Leidenfrost effect, and the repelled or levitated liquid 2 is urged to move along the heated surface 4. The surface 4 may be planar or may be shaped to urge the liquid 2 in a particular direction. Chemical, gravitational, electrical or gas dynamic effects may alternatively be used to drive the liquid 2 in a desired direction. In one embodiment, the heated surface may act as a conduit 6 or tube to transport liquid droplets towards a sample inlet aperture of a spectrometer. Alternatively, the heated surface may urge the liquid droplets into an ionisation region (e.g. for DESI, MALDI, SAI and REIMS ionisation). The invention may reduce cross-contamination or carryover between liquid samples by preventing the liquid from contacting the heated surface. The invention may also be used to control the transit time and desolvation rate of the droplets. |
