IMPROVED ELECTROSPRAY AND OTHER LC/MS INTERFACES

摘要

An improved method and apparatus for performing Mass spectrometry, in particular, Liquid chromatography/Mass spectrometry (LC/MS) is disclosed. Controlled generation of individual charged droplets enables the subsequent steps of trapping, desolvation and concentration. Miniturization is also enabled. In contrast, conventional means of forming Electrospray are chaotic, generating large numbers of charged droplets simultaneously. Additional flow of gas are provided in a nebulization region to effectively remove undesired solvent vapor and concentrate desired analyte containing droplets and/or analyte ions. A semipermeable structure (47) is used to effectively separate associated gas flow streams. Ions are concentrated or trapped using electrodes which are bound in the nebulization region (51) and are appropriately electrically biased so as to concentrate the ions in one side, or in the center, or in a ring of the laminar gas stream. Additionally, a valve (79) may be used to interrupt the flow gas into a detector region.