SUBATMOSPHERIC, VARIABLE PRESSURE SAMPLE DELIVERY CHAMBER FOR ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION/MASS SPECTROMETRY AND OTHER APPLICATIONS

摘要

A subatmospheric, variable pressure sample delivery chamber (2), useful as an electrospray ionization device for introducing a sample into a mass spectrometer (9) or as a sample device at subatmospheric pressures, is disclosed. The sample delivery chamber (2) is configured to maintain an operating pressure between 1 and 750 Torr, preferably between 50 and 700 Torr. The chamber has an inlet port (4) for introduction of a gas and an exit port (6) capable of being coupled either to a sampling orifice (8) for an analytical device, usually a mass spectrometer (9), or directly to a pump for removal of gas. A sample delivery device (22) is capable of receiving a sample and the exit port (6) of the chamber, if the sample is to be delivered to an external analytical device, or aligned with the collection device, for direct collection of the sample.