.jpg?n=7000 "PNNL Ultrasensitive Electrospray Ionization MS Source and Interface")
2009 R&D 100 Winner
With the Ultrasensitive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Source and Interface, scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., combined a multi-nanoelectrospray ionization source (ESI) with a multi-inlet mass spectrometry (MS) interface. The union of these two technologies provides ionization efficiencies that were before only achievable from very-low-flow-rate, specialized separations. Now it can be used with common, higher-flow-rate analyses.
The combination has a number of advantages, including 100% liquid chromatography effluent use efficiency as opposed to 5% for a conventional ESI source. The Ultrasensitive ESI-MS Source and Interface provides at least a 40-fold increase in MS sensitivity relative to commercially available instrumentation. Other results include greatly improved operation, sensitivity, and quantitation for liquid samples and from liquid chromatography separations. Applications include materials analyses of pharmaceuticals or petrochemicals.
Technology
Mass spectrometer
Developer
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
