Mass spectrometer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9520279-B2
Application number	US-201514617050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 9, 2015
Priority date	Nov 10, 2005
Publication date	Dec 13, 2016
Grant date	Dec 13, 2016

Abstract

A mass spectrometer is disclosed comprising a first ion trap or ion guide, a single ion mobility spectrometer or separator stage and a second ion trap or ion guide arranged downstream of the ion mobility spectrometer or separator. A mode of operation includes passing ions from said first ion trap or ion guide to said device and onwards to said second ion trap or ion guide and then passing at least some of said ions or at least some fragment, daughter, product or adduct ions derived from said ions from said second ion trap or ion guide onwards to said first ion trap or ion guide.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A mass spectrometer comprising:
a first ion trap or ion guide comprising a plurality of electrodes;
a device for separating ions according to their ion mobility or rate of change of ion mobility with electric field strength, said device being arranged downstream of said first ion trap or ion guide;
first transient DC voltage means arranged and adapted to apply one or more transient DC voltages or one or more transient DC voltage waveforms to electrodes forming said device; and
a second ion trap or ion guide comprising a plurality of electrodes arranged downstream of said device, wherein said second ion trap or ion guide is arranged and adapted to receive a beam or group of ions and to partition said beam or group of ions such that a plurality of separate packets of ions are confined in said second ion trap or ion guide at any particular time, wherein each packet of ions is separately confined in a separate axial potential well formed within said second ion trap or ion guide.

2. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said first ion trap or ion guide is arranged and adapted in a mode of operation to receive ions which emerge from said device and to pass or transmit at least some of said ions, or at least some fragment, daughter, product or adduct ions derived from said ions, from said first ion trap or ion guide to said device.

3. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said first ion trap or ion guide is arranged and adapted to receive a beam or group of ions and to convert or partition said beam or group of ions such that a plurality or at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 separate packets of ions are confined or isolated in said first ion trap or ion guide at any particular time, and wherein each packet of ions is separately confined or isolated in a separate axial potential well formed within said first ion trap or ion guide.

4. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
(i) first acceleration means arranged and adapted to accelerate ions into said first ion trap or ion guide wherein in a mode of operation at least 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% of said ions are caused to fragment or react upon entering said first ion trap or ion guide; or
(ii) second acceleration means arranged and adapted to accelerate ions into said second ion trap or ion guide wherein in a mode of operation at least 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% of said ions are caused to fragment or react upon entering said second ion trap or ion guide.

5. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a control system arranged and adapted to switch or repeatedly switch the potential difference through which ions pass prior to entering said first ion trap or ion guide or said second ion trap or ion guide between a relatively high fragmentation or reaction mode of operation wherein ions are substantially fragmented or reacted upon entering said second ion trap or ion guide and a relatively low fragmentation or reaction mode of operation wherein substantially fewer ions are fragmented or reacted or wherein substantially no ions are fragmented or reacted upon entering said second ion trap or ion guide.

6. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising
(a) an ion source selected from the group consisting of: (i) an Electrospray ionisation (“ESI”) ion source; (ii) an Atmospheric Pressure Photo Ionisation (“APPI”) ion source; (iii) an Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionisation (“APCI”) ion source; (iv) a Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation (“MALDI”) ion source; (v) a Laser Desorption Ionisation (“LDI”) ion source; (vi) an Atmospheric Pressure Ionisation (“API”) ion source; (vii) a Desorption Ionisation On Silicon (“DIOS”) ion source; (viii) an Electron Impact (“EI”) ion source; (ix) a Chemical Ionisation (“CI”) ion source; (x) a Field Ionisation (“FI”) ion source; (xi) a Field Desorption (“FD”) ion source; (xii) an Inductively Coupled Plasma (“ICP”) ion source; (xiii) a Fast Atom Bombardment (“FAB”) ion source; (xiv) a Liquid Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (“LSIMS”) ion source; (xv) a Desorption Electrospray Ionisation (“DESI”) ion source; (xvi) a Nickel-63 radioactive ion source; (xvii) an Atmospheric Pressure Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation (“AP-MALDI”) ion source; and (xviii) a Thermospray ion source; or
(b) a collision, fragmentation or reaction device selected from the group consisting of: (i) a collision, fragmentation or reaction device arranged and adapted to fragment ions by Collision Induced Dissociation (“CID”); (ii) a Surface Induced Dissociation (“SID”) fragmentation device; (iii) an Electron Transfer Dissociation fragmentation device; (iv) an Electron Capture Dissociation fragmentation device; (v) an Electron Collision or Impact Dissociation fragmentation device; (vi) a Photo Induced Dissociation (“PID”) fragmentation device; (vii) a Laser Induced Dissociation fragmentation device; (viii) an infrared radiation induced dissociation device; (ix) an ultraviolet radiation induced dissociation device; (x) a nozzle-skimmer interface fragmentation device; (xi) an in-source fragmentation device; (xii) an ion-source Collision Induced Dissociation fragmentation device; (xiii) a thermal or temperature source fragmentation device; (xiv) an electric field induced fragmentation device; (xv) a magnetic field induced fragmentation device; (xvi) an enzyme digestion or enzyme degradation fragmentation device; (xvii) an ion-ion reaction fragmentation device; (xviii) an ion-molecule reaction fragmentation device; (xix) an ion-atom reaction fragmentation device; (xx) an ion-metastable ion reaction fragmentation device; (xxi) an ion-metastable molecule reaction fragmentation device; (xxii) an ion-metastable atom reaction fragmentation device; (xxiii) an ion-ion reaction device for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; (xxiv) an ion-molecule reaction device for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; (xxv) an ion-atom reaction device for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; (xxvi) an ion-metastable ion reaction device for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; (xxvii) an ion-metastable molecule reaction device for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; and (xxviii) an ion-metastable atom reaction device for reacting ions to form adduct or product ions; or
(c) mass analyser is selected from the group consisting of: (i) a quadrupole mass analyser; (ii) a 2D or linear quadrupole mass analyser; (iii) a Paul or 3D quadrupole mass analyser; (iv) a Penning trap mass analyser; (v) an ion trap mass analyser; (vi) a magnetic sector mass analyser; (vii) Ion Cyclotron Resonance (“ICR”) mass analyser; (viii) a Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (“FTICR”) mass analyser; (ix) an electrostatic or orbitrap mass analyser; (x) a Fourier Transform electrostatic or orbitrap mass analyser; (xi) a Fourier Transform mass analyser; (xii) a Time of Flight mass analyser; (xiii) an orthogonal acceleration Time of Flight mass analyser; (xiv) an axial acceleration Time of Flight mass analyser; and (xv) a quadrupole rod set mass filter or mass analyser.

7. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a mass filter or mass analyser, wherein said mass filter or mass analyser is selected from the group consisting of: (i) a quadrupole rod set mass filter or mass analyser; (ii) a Time of Flight mass filter or mass analyser; (iii) a Wein filter; and (iv) a magnetic sector mass filter or mass analyser; and
wherein in a mode of operation:
(i) said mass filter or mass analyser is operated in a substantially non-resolvi

Assignees

• Micromass Ltd

Inventors

• Bateman Robert Harold
• Giles Kevin
• Pringle Steven Derek
• Wildgoose Jason Lee

Classifications

• H01J49/0045

  characterised by the fragmentation or other specific reaction · CPC title

• G01N27/622

  Ion mobility spectrometry · CPC title

• H01J49/0031 Primary

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

• H01J49/062 Primary

  Ion guides (linear ion traps performing mass selection H01J49/4225, mass filters H01J49/421) · CPC title

• G01N27/623 Primary

  combined with mass spectrometry · CPC title