Apparatus for structural characterization of biological moieties through HPLC separation

摘要

A system allows routine coupling of HPLC separations to sheathless mu -ESI sources for MS analysis. Characteristics of this system include stable electrospray throughout the HPLC gradient at low and high flow rates, lower background than conventional sources, and control over the width of eluting HPLC peaks without degradation of HPLC performance. This system includes a pre-column solvent flow splitter, a metal union in the split waste line for application of mu -ESI voltage, a divert valve containing two different size restrictors for control of flow, and pulled fused silica capillaries as mu -ESI emitters. The pulled tips allowed stable operation of the system with column flow rates ranging from ca. 5->250 nL/min.