Charge detection mass spectrometry utilizing harmonic oscillation and selective temporal overview of resonant ion (STORI) plots

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12051579-B2
Application number	US-202017606386-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 22, 2020
Priority date	Apr 25, 2019
Publication date	Jul 30, 2024
Grant date	Jul 30, 2024

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for performing charge detection mass spectrometry for measurement of the mass of a single ion of interest are disclosed. The ion of interest is caused to undergo harmonic oscillatory movement in the trapping field of an electrostatic trap, such that an image current detector generates a time-varying signal representative of the ion's oscillatory movement. This time-varying signal (transient) is processed (e.g., via a Fourier transform) to derive the ion's frequency and consequently determine the ion's mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). Ion charge is determined by construction of a Selective Temporal Overview of Resonant Ion (STORI) plot, which tracks the temporal evolution of signals attributable to the ion of interest, and where the slope of the STORI plot is related to the charge. The STORI plot may also be employed to identify ion decay events during transient acquisition and/or the presence of multiple ions of the same mass or non-resolvable ions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for determination of a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) and a charge of an ion, comprising:
an electrostatic trap having a plurality of electrodes and a voltage source for applying a set of non-oscillatory voltages to the plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electrodes being shaped and arranged to establish an electrostatic trapping field within the electrostatic trap that causes the ion to undergo harmonic motion along a longitudinal axis;
a detector that generates a time-varying signal responsive to a current induced on the detector by the harmonic motion of the ion; and
a data system having logic for:
processing the time-varying signal to derive a frequency of harmonic motion and to determine the m/z from the derived frequency;
generating a Selective Temporal Overview of Resonant Ion (STORI) plot of the variation of STORI MAG versus time, in accordance with the equations:
STORI MAG ( t n )=((STORI REAL ( t n )) 2 +(STORI IMAG ( t n )) 2 ) 1/2
STORI REAL ( t n )= S ( t n )*sin(ω* t n )+STORI REAL ( t n-1 )

and
STORI IMAG ( t n )=− S ( t n )*cos(ω* t n )+STORI IMAG ( t n-1 ),

where S(t n ) is the amplitude of the discretized time-varying signal at time point t r , and ω is the derived frequency of harmonic motion; and
determining the charge of the ion based in accordance with a stored relation between ion charge and STORI plot slope.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes includes an inner electrode elongated along the axis and an outer electrode radially surrounding the inner electrode, and wherein the electrostatic field is established in the annular space between the inner and outer electrodes.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the inner and outer electrodes are shaped and arranged such that the electrostatic field has a potential distribution U(r,z) that approximates the relation:

U
⁡
(

r
,
z

)

=

k
2

⁢

(

z
2

-

r
2

2

)

+

k
2

*

(

R
m

)

*

ln
⁡
(

r

R
m

)

+
C

where r is the position of the ion along the radial axis, z is the position of the ion along the central axis, k is the field curvature, C is a constant, and Rm is a characteristic field radius.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the outer electrode is split along a transverse plane of symmetry of the electrostatic trap into first and second parts, and the detector comprises a differential amplifier connected between the first and second parts.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an ion store in which the ion is trapped and thereafter released on an ion path toward an inlet of the electrostatic trap.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the data system is configured to apply a Fourier transform to the time-varying signal to construct a frequency spectrum.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the data system further includes logic for visually displaying the STORI plot.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the data system further includes logic for analyzing the STORI plot to identify an ion decay event.

9. A method for determining a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) and a charge of an ion of interest, comprising:
(a) injecting an ion population including the ion of interest into a trapping region and establishing an electrostatic trapping field within the region that causes the ion population to undergo harmonic motion along a central axis;
(b) generating a time-varying signal representative of a current induced on a detector by the harmonic motion of the ion population;
(c) processing the time-varying signal to derive a frequency of the induced current;
(d) determining the m/z of the ion of interest from the derived frequency;
(e) generating a generate a Selective Temporal Overview of Resonant Ion (STORI) plot of the variation of STORI MAG (i) versus time, in accordance with the equations:
STORI MAG ( t n )=((STORI REAL ( t n )) 2 +(STORI IMAG ( t n )) 2 ) 1/2
STORI REAL ( t n )= S ( t n )*sin(ω* t n )+STORI REAL ( t n-1 )

and
STORI IMAG ( t n )=− S ( t n )*cos(ω* t n )+STORI IMAG ( t n-1 ),

where S(t n ) is the amplitude of the time varying signal at time point t n and ω is the derived frequency of harmonic motion; and

(f) determining the charge of the ion based in accordance with a stored relation between ion charge and STORI plot slope.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the electrostatic field is established in an annular region between an inner electrode and an outer electrode radially surrounding the inner electrode, and wherein the electrostatic trapping field has a potential distribution U(r,z) that approximates the relation:

U
⁡
(

r
,
z

)

=

k
2

⁢

(

z
2

-

r
2

2

)

+

k
2

*

(

R
m

)

*

ln
⁡
(

r

R
m

Assignees

• Thermo Finnigan Llc
• Thermo Fisher Scient Bremen Gmbh

Inventors

• Senko Michael W
• Yip Ping F
• Grinfeld Dmitry E
• Beu Steven C

Classifications

• H01J49/4245 Primary

  Electrostatic ion traps (H01J49/422 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01J49/0031

  Step by step routines describing the use of the apparatus (H01J49/0081 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01J49/0036 Primary

  Step by step routines describing the handling of the data generated during a measurement · CPC title