Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) is a widely used and ‘well-known’ technique of ion separation in gaseous phase based on the differences of ion mobilities under an electric field. All IMS instruments operate with an electric field that provides space separation, but some IMS instruments also operate with a drift gas flow which provides also a temporal separation. In this review we will summarize the current IMS instrumentation. IMS techniques have received an increased interest as new instrumentation has become available to be coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). For each of the eight types of IMS instruments reviewed it is mentioned whether they can be hyphenated with MS and whether they are commercially available. Finally, out of the described devices, the six most-consolidated ones are compared. The current review article is followed by a companion review article which details the IMS hyphenated techniques (mainly gas chromatography and mass spectrometry) and the factors that make the data from an IMS device change as function of device parameters and sampling conditions. These reviews will provide the reader with an insightful view of the main characteristics and aspects of the IMS technique.

Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) is a widely used and ‘well-known’ technique of ion separation in gaseous phase based on the differences of ion mobilities under an electric field. This technique has received increased interest over the last several decades as evidenced by the pace and advances of new IMS devices available. In this review we explore the hyphenated techniques that are used with IMS, especially mass spectrometry as identification approach and multi-capillary column as pre-separation approach. Also, we will pay special attention to the key figures of merit of the ion mobility spectrum and how data is treated, and the influences of the experimental parameters in both a conventional drift time IMS (DTIMS) and a miniaturized IMS also known as high Field Asymmetric IMS (FAIMS) in the planar configuration. The current review article is preceded by a companion review article which details the current instrumentation and to the sections that configures both a conventional DTIMS and FAIMS devices. Those reviews will give the reader an insightful view of the main characteristics and aspects of the IMS technique.

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A simple linear electromechanical model for an electrostatically driven resonating cantilever is derived. The model has been developed in order to determine dynamic quantities such as the capacitive current flowing through the cantilever-driver system at the resonance frequency, and it allows us to calculate static magnitudes such as position and voltage of collapse or the voltage versus deflection characteristic. The model is used to demonstrate the theoretical sensitivity on the attogram scale of a mass sensor based on a nanometre-scale cantilever, and to analyse the effect of an extra feedback loop in the control circuit to increase the Q factor.

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Nanoscale heterostructures based on WO3-x nanoneedles functionalized with Fe2O3 nanoparticles are integrated directly into flexible polymer-based transducing platforms via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Results demonstrate that the incorporation of Fe2O3 nanoparticles at the surface of WO3-x nanoneedles enhances the electronic and sensing properties of WO3-x, providing a 6-fold increase in sensitivity to toluene and low cross-sensitivity to hydrogen and ethanol. These enhanced-sensing properties are comparable to those obtained via functionalization with precious metal (Pt) nanoparticles, which are commonly used to enhance sensor performance.

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