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Mass spectrometric ionization methods that operate under ambient conditions and require minimal or no sample pretreatment have attracted much attention in such fields as biomedicine, food safety, antiterrorism, pharmaceuticals, and environmental pollution. These technologies usually involve separate ionization and sample-introduction events, allowing independent control over each set of conditions. Ionization is typically performed under ambient conditions through use of existing electrospray ionization (ESI) or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) techniques. Rapid analyses of gas, liquid, and solid samples are possible with the adoption of various sample-introduction methods. This review sorts different ambient ionization techniques into two main subcategories, primarily on the basis of the ionization processes, that are further differentiated in terms of the approach used for sampling.

We report here using a novel technology-electrospray-assisted laser desorption ionization (ELDI)/mass spectrometry-for the rapid and sensitive detection of the major proteins that exist in dried biological fluids (e.g., blood, tears, saliva, serum), bacterial cultures, and tissues (e.g., porcine liver and heart) under ambient conditions. This technique required essentially no sample pretreatment. The proteins in the samples were desorbed using a pulsed nitrogen laser without the assistance of an organic matrix. The desorbed protein molecules were then post-ionized through their fusion into the charged solvent droplets produced from the electrospray of an acidic methanol solution; electrospray ionization (ESI) proceeded from the newly formed droplets to generate the ESI-like protein ions. This new ionization approach combines some of the features of electrospray ionization with those of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI), that is, sampling of a solid surface with spatial resolution, generating ESI-like mass spectra of the desorbed proteins, and operating under ambient conditions.

In this study we demonstrate that electrospray-assisted laser desorption ionization (ELDI) mass spectrometry (MS) can be used to rapidly characterize major chemical components on the surfaces of different solids under ambient conditions. The major chemical components in (a) dried milks with different fat contents, (b) different color-regions of a painting, (c) the thin coating on a compact disc, (d) drug tablets, and (e) porcine brain tissue were rapidly characterized as protonated molecules [M+H](+) or sodiated molecules [M+Na](+) by ELDI-MS with minimum sample pretreatment. The ionized ions of synthetic polymer and dye standards were detected directly from dried sample solutions using either positive or negative ion mode. Further structural information for the FD&C Red dye was obtained through tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) analysis using an ion trap mass analyzer attached to the ELDI source.

Electrospray-assisted laser desorption/ionization (ELDI), an ionization method that combines laser desorption and electrospray ionization (ESI), can be used under ambient conditions to characterize organic compounds (including FD&C dyes, amines, extracts of a drug tablet) separated in the central track on a thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plate coated with either reversed-phase C18 particles or normal-phase silica gel. After drying, the TLC plate was placed on an acrylic sample holder set in front of the sampling skimmer of an ion trap mass analyzer. The chemicals at the center of the TLC plate were analyzed by pushing the sample holder into the path of a laser beam with a syringe pump. The molecules in the sample spot were desorbed by continuously irradiating the surface of the TLC plate with a pulsed nitrogen laser. Then, the desorbed sample molecules entered an ESI plume where they were ionized through the reactions with the charged species (including protons, hydronium ions and their cluster ions, solvent ions, and charged droplets) generated by electrospraying a methanol/water solution. MS/MS analyses were also performed to further characterize the analytes. The detection limit of TLC/ELDI/MS is approximately 10(-6) M. This was evaluated by using FD&C red dye as the standard. A linear relationship was found for the calibration curve with the concentration of FD&C red dye ranged from 10(-3) to 10(-6) M.

Electrospray-assisted laser desorption ionization (ELDI) is a technique which combines laser desorption with subsequent electrospray ionization. It is useful for directly detecting small and large molecules in solid or liquid samples under ambient conditions. In this paper, the detection of the protein molecules desorbed on a dry protein spot by using pulse laser energies of up to 300 microJ was demonstrated. The influences of organic and inorganic matrices, the laser energy, the laser wavelength, and the sample plate material on desorption of protein molecules from sample plates were discussed. In addition, the effects of the composition of the electrospray solution on the ionization of the desorbed protein molecules were studied.

Rapid characterization of thermally stable chemical compounds in solid or liquid states is achieved through thermal desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS). A feature of this technique is that sampling, desorption, ionization, and mass spectrometric detection are four separate events with respect to time and location. A metal probe was used to sample analytes in their solid or liquid states. The probe was then inserted in a preheated oven to thermally desorb the analytes on the probe. The desorbed analytes were carried by a nitrogen gas stream into an ESI plume, where analyte ions were formed via interactions with charged solvent species generated in the ESI plume. The analyte ions were subsequently detected by a mass analyzer attached to the TD-ESI source. Quantification of acetaminophen in aqueous solutions using TD-ESI/MS was also performed in which a linear response for acetaminophen was obtained between 25 and 500 ppb (R(2) = 0.9978). The standard deviation for a reproducibility test for ten liquid samples was 9.6%. Since sample preparation for TD-ESI/MS is unnecessary, a typical analysis can be completed in less than 10 s. Analytes such as the active ingredients in over-the-counter drugs were rapidly characterized regardless of the different physical properties of said drugs, which included liquid eye drops, viscous cold syrup solution, ointment cream, and a drug tablet. This approach was also used to detect trace chemical compounds in illicit drugs and explosives, in which samples were obtained from the surfaces of a cell phone, piece of luggage made from hard plastic, business card, and wooden desk.

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