IONIZATION AT INTERMEDIATE PRESSURE FOR ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETERS

摘要

An ion source able to ionize liquid and gaseous effluents from interfaced liquid or gaseous separation techniques and from direct introduction of the analyte to the entrance of the ionization region. The liquid effluents from sources such as a liquid chromatograph are ionized by inlet ionization methods and the gaseous effluents from sources such as a gas chromatograph are ionized by a corona or Townsend electrical discharge, or an alpha or beta emitter, or by inlet ionization, or by photoionization. Ionization occurs in an intermediate pressure region linking atmospheric pressure and the vacuum of the mass analyzer. The source has the ability to ionize compounds from both liquid and gaseous sources, which facilitates ionization of volatile compounds separated by gas chromatography, volatile or non-volatile compounds separated by liquid chromatography, or infused into the ionization. The ionization methods can be achieved with a single configuration or with separately optimized configurations.

主权项

1. An ionizing system, comprising:
a first transfer device having a first channel with an inlet disposed in a first pressure region and outlet disposed in a second pressure region having a pressure that is less than a pressure in the first pressure region; an intermediate coupling device having a second channel configured to receive a portion of the first transfer device and to receive a second transfer device that is configured to be coupled to an input of a mass spectrometer, the intermediate coupling device defining a second channel that is in fluid communication with the channel of the first transfer device and the channel of the second transfer device.