Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Huang, Yuliang
• Xie, Chunguang
• Yang, Tong
• Zhao, Gaosheng
• Jia, Bin
• Cheng, Ping

Titel

Boosting the sensitivity of single photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using a segmented focus quadrupole-ion guide

Ist Teil von

• Talanta (Oxford), 2024-09, Vol.277, p.126327, Article 126327

Ort / Verlag

Netherlands: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Single photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPI-TOF-MS) is a powerful analytical technique for real-time detection of trace VOCs. However, efficient ion transmission within the ionization chamber has always been a challenging issue in SPI-TOF-MS. In this study, a novel ion guide termed the Segmented Focus Quadrupole Ion Guide (SFQ-IG) was introduced for SPI-TOF-MS. The SFQ-IG device consists of 12 printed circuit boards (PCB), each containing four quarter-ring electrodes with inner diameters progressively decreasing from 26 to 4 mm. The simulation results demonstrated that SFQ-IG exhibited superior ion transmission efficiency than both ion funnel (IF) field and direct current-only (DC-only) field. By integrating into a SPI-TOF-MS, this ion guide was optimized in terms of the ionization source pressure, direct current gradient, and radio frequency amplitude. Further comparative experiments demonstrated that the SPI-TOF-MS with the SFQ-IG exhibited higher sensitivity than both the IF field (1.3–7.4 times) and DC-only field (3.5–8.8 times) for the test VOCs. The improvements in limit of detection (LOD) with the SFQ-IG ranged from 1.6 to 5.3 times compared to the DC-only field for the test VOCs. Fabricated using PCB technology, the SFQ-IG is characterized by its cost-effectiveness, compact size, and high transmission efficiency, facilitating its integration into other mass spectrometers. [Display omitted] •SFQ-IG improves the sensitivity of SPI-TOF-MS via novel design.•Ion trajectory simulations optimize operational parameters for SFQ-IG.•PCB technology eases fabrication and enhances cost-effectiveness.•Compact SFQ-IG (23 mm) with high ion transmission suits miniature instruments.•SFQ-IG enhances sensitivity (3.5-8.8x) compared to traditional fields.