Evaluation of a New DC-Ion Funnel Drift Tube for Use in Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry

Anal Chem. 2022 May 24;94(20):7174-7180. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c05086. Epub 2022 May 10.

Abstract

We have developed and characterized a novel drift tube called the direct current-ion funnel (DC-ion funnel) drift tube, consisting of 20 traditional ring electrodes and 5 new DC-focusing electrodes (DC-FEs) for use in proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Ion trajectory simulations demonstrate the ion focusing effect of the DC-FE and DC-ion funnel drift tube. Further comparative experiments show that the PTR-MS with the novel DC-ion funnel drift tube has a higher sensitivity (3.8-7.3 times for the volatile organic compounds considered in this work) than the PTR-MS with a traditional drift tube. Different from conventional radiofrequency (rf) focusing methods, the DC-ion funnel drift tube can realize ion focusing with only a DC electric field and no additional rf power supply, which makes it especially suitable for instruments requiring miniaturization and low power consumption to improve detection sensitivity. In addition, the DC-ion funnel drift tube can easily be coupled to other types of mass spectrometers to increase their detection sensitivity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Electricity
  • Electrodes
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Protons*
  • Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis

Substances

  • Protons
  • Volatile Organic Compounds