Analyzers for Time-resolved Mass Spectrometry

Before detailing the characteristics of mass analyzers, it is worth noting that electric fields as well as collisions between ions with gas molecules affect ion motion. To ensure the highest possible sensitivity, modern mass spectrometers operate under a vacuum ranging 

Pawel Lukasz Urban, Yii-Chie Chen and Yi-Sheng Wang. 

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Mass Analyzers for Time-resolved Mass Spectrometry... 

Figure 7. Time-resolved mass spectrometry. AU-trcms-(2, 4, 6, 8) decatetraene was excited to its 5 2 electronic origin with a femtosecond pulse at A-pump — 287 nm. The excited-state evolution was probed via single-photon ionization using a femtosecond pulse at ApIObe = 235 nm. The time resolution in these experiments was 290 fs (0.3 ps). The parent ion CioH signal rises with the pump laser, but then seems to stay almost constant with time. The modest decay observed can be fit with a single exponential time constant of 1 ps. Note that this result is in apparent disagreement with the same experiment performed at Xprobe — 352 nm, which yields a lifetime of 0.4 ps for the S2 state. The disagreement between these two results can be only reconciled by analyzing the time-resolved photoelectron spectrum.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a powerful separation technique. It is especially useful for separation of ionic compounds and chiral mixtures. Mass spectrometry has been coupled with CE to provide a powerful platform for separation and detection of complex mixtures such as combinatorial libraries. However, the full potential of CE in the application of routine analysis of samples has yet to be realized. This is in part due to perceived difficulty in the use of the CE technique compared to the more mature techniques of HPLC and even SFC. Dunayevskiy et al. [136] analyzed a library of 171 theoretically disubstituted xanthene derivatives with a CE/ESI-MS system. The method allowed the purity and makeup of the library to be determined 160 of the expected compounds were found to be present, and 12 side products were also detected in the mixture. Due to the ability of CE to separate analytes on the basis of charge, most of the xanthene derivatives could be resolved by simple CE-MS procedures even though 124 of the 171 theoretical compounds were isobaric with at least one other molecule in the mixture. Any remaining unresolved peaks were resolved by MS/MS experiments. The method shows promise for the analysis of small combinatorial libraries with fewer than 1000 components. Boutin et al. [137] used CE-MS along with NMR and MS/MS to characterize combinatorial peptide libraries that contain 3 variable positions. The CE-MS method was used to provide a rapid and routine method for initial assessment of the construction of the library. Simms et al. [138] developed a micellar electrokinetic chromatography method for the analysis of combinatorial libraries with an open-tube capillary and UV detection. The quick analysis time of the method made it suitable for the analysis of combinatorial library samples. CE-MS was also used in the analysis... 

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