A kiloelectronvolt beam of helium ions is used to ionize and fragment precursor peptide ions starting in the 1+ charge state. The electron affinity of helium cations (24.6 eV) exceeds the ionization potential of protonated peptides and can therefore be used to abstract an electron from--or charge exchange with--the isolated precursor ions. Kiloelectronvolt energies are used, (1) to overcome the Coulombic repulsion barrier between the cationic reactants, (2) to overcome ion-defocussing effects in the ion trap, and (3) to provide additional activation energy. Charge transfer dissociation (CTD) of the [M+H](+) precursor of Substance P gives product ions such as [M+H](2+•) and a dominant series of a ions in both the 1+ and 2+ charge states. These observations, along with the less-abundant a + 1 ions, are consistent with ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) results of others and indicate that C-C(α) cleavages are possible through charge exchange with helium ions. Although the efficiencies and timescale of CTD are not yet suitable for on-line chromatography, this new approach to ion activation provides an additional potential tool for the interrogation of gas phase ions.

Preparative mass spectrometry has become a diverse field that covers the spectrum of kinetic energy deposition. Of these methods, soft-landing mass spectrometry has many fundamental properties, which make it an advantageous technique for ion isolation and deposition. Its definition implies the preservation of ionic structural integrity after landing, which ensures the structure-function relationship of a molecule remains intact. Here the focus is on the instruments and applications of studying ion-surface landing in the hyperthermal and thermal kinetic energy regimes. Soft-landing preparative mass spectrometry covers the breadth of mass spectrometric ionization sources, instrumental configurations, and molecular families. Due to the diverse nature of soft landing, and to maximize readability, this review has been organized according to instrumental considerations and molecular families, with a discussion of theoretical work at the end.

We herein demonstrate an approach to gas phase ion manipulation that provides MS3-level CID spectra of phospholipid radical cations that are almost independent of the original charging adduct ions. In the MS2 He-MAD spectra of the protonated, sodiated and potassiated adducts of POPC, the different adducts induce different primary fragmentation pathways and provide significantly different spectra, as is commonly observed by other activation methods. In separate experiments, the even-electron adduct ions ([M+H]+, [M+Na]+, [M+K]+) of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) were first converted to radical cations [POPC]+• by using helium metastable atom-activated dissociation (He-MAD) to eject the charging adduct ions, then exposed to low-energy collision induced dissociation (CID) to induce extensive fragmentation along the acyl chains. Such charge-remote fragmentation is generally inaccessible through low-energy CID of the even-electron precursor ions. The combination of He-MAD and CID provides radical-induced spectra that show very major similarities and only minor differences, and therefore overcomes major differences in chemistry that are otherwise observed by the original adducting species. Collisional activation of even-electron [POPC+H]+ required higher CID amplitudes than odd-electron [POPC]+• to effect fragmentation—as expected—and the latter provided fragments within the acyl chains that were influenced by the double bond position.

Strength of hydrogen bonds of water depends on local environment J. Chem. Phys. 136, 144305 (2012) Modeling of an ionic liquid electrospray using molecular dynamics with constraints J. Chem. Phys. 136, 124507 (2012) Epitaxial oxide bilayer on Pt (001)

This article presents the novel instrumentation of nanomanipulation coupled to nanospray ionization-mass spectrometry, which is used to directly probe trace analytes found on individual fibers. The low detection limits and sample volumes associated with nanospray ionization-mass spectrometry make it the ideal instrument to implement for trace analysis. Nanospray ionization-mass spectrometry, coupled with the nanomanipulator, allows for the direct probing of trace particulates on fibers. The technique is demonstrated by dissolving an electrostatic particle of cocaine from a fiber, collecting the analyte solution in a nanospray tip, and transferring the tip directly to the mass spectrometer to complete analysis. The utility of this technique is evident through the minimal sample preparation and short analysis time. The use of nanomanipulation coupled to nanospray ionization-mass spectrometry could improve on current trace particulate analysis by reducing both detection limits and sample size required to complete analysis.