Development of fragment ion detection methods is of great
importance
for mass spectrometer advancement or substance identification. To
date, collision induced dissociation (CID) remains the most commonly
used ion activation method in MS/MS experiments, and the effectiveness
of CID in an ion trap mass spectrometer is limited by low mass cutoff
and weak fragmentation yields. Theoretically, controlling the q value
is the key to maintain the fragment efficiency and trapping efficiency
of MS/MS, thus improving the detection of fragment ion, while currently
reported techniques usually require complex circuitry and often produce
different CID patterns. In this paper, with the developed synchronized
reversed scanning–collision induced dissociation (SRS-CID)
technique, we demonstrate its effective improvement in fragment ion
detection. The SRS-CID is implemented on a digital ion trap mass spectrometer
(DITMS) by reverse scanning the q values during CID process, or specifically,
the frequency is increased during the CID process. With the SRS-CID
technique, the fragmentation efficiency of precursor ions can be slightly
improved. For reserpine analyte, the trapping efficiency for low-mass
fragment ions is improved at least 3 times, and for YGGFL, the trapping
efficiency for low-mass fragment ions is improved at least 9 times.
These experimental results can also be validated by simulations, and
the kinetic energy variation plot suggests consecutive fragmentation
occurs. In any case, the SRS-CID provides a solution to the low efficiency
of fragment ion detection during tandem MS analysis, which will certainly
be useful in the future.