Picotip™ emitters

Gold/palladium-coated nanospray capillaries (Protana) or a PicoTip emitter (New Objective). 

For nano-ESI-MS MS , the sample is loaded either in a previously rinsed gold/palladium-coated nanospray capillary (Promega) or in a PicoTip emitter (New Objective) and analyzed in a nanospray source. 

Due to the better performances and the versatility olfered by the design, the modular interface, based on the use of commercially available Picotip emitters, was used in the final setup. The modular integration allows the replacement of the spraying tips, independently from the more expensive chips, as often as required to avoid sample cross-contamination. More importantly, the microreactors can be easily replaced, oflering the possibility to study a wide variety of chemical reactions as demonstrated, for example, in the qualitative and quantitative determination of the binding strength of supramolecular interactions as well as the study of the kinetics of NBDPZ. 

For the complete or partial loss of signal in the mass spectrometer, check the position and integrity of the Picotip as well. Make sure the tip is not broken or its coating is not damaged replace it if required. The presence of air bubbles in the mobile phases might also compromise the spray from the Picotip emitter and degassing of mobile phases prior to use is recommended. 

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