An electrospray ionization source has been coupled to a reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer. By orienting the ion source perpendicular to the field-free drift region, the longitudinal energy spread of the ion packet has been substantially reduced, allowing a mass resolving power of over 1000 to be achieved for both low-mass and high-mass ions of biological interest. In addition, instrument sensitivity allows the routine detection of low-picomole and subpicomole quantities of large multiply charged species such as cytochrome c (MW = 12,360.9). The potential utility of this instrument for conducting rapid screening of chromatographic effluents is discussed in light of its simplicity, rapid scanning speed, and high sensitivity.
A preliminary design and implementation of a novel approach to electrospray-mass spectrometry are described. Based on a time-of-flight mass analysis, the instrument provides several important advantages for on-line mass analysis: 1, simplicity, ease of use and low manufacturing cost; 2, rapid scan speed, yielding quasi-instantaneous full mass scans at repetition rates up to several kHz; 3, soft ionization and accurate mass determination of extremely large analyte molecules; 4, high sensitivity.
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