Apparatus and method for ion mobility spectrometry and sample introduction

An ion mobility spectrometer apparatus comprising:

• a) an ionization source that produces charged particles or ions by electrospraying a solution in an electrospray needle when a voltage is applied to the electrospray needle, where, for each sample to be analyzed, the electrospray needle is placed in front of a negative flow curtain gas section;
• b) the negative flow curtain gas section bringing the charged particles or ions into a desolvation region is located between the electrospray needle and the desolvation region, wherein the negative flow curtain gas section has a first opening to the electrospray needle allowing charged particles or ions to enter, a second opening to the desolvation region, and a third opening where gas flows are exhausted;
• c) an ion gate that is located between the desolvation region and a drift region of the spectrometer;
• and
• d) a gas flow around the electrospray needle flows through the first opening into the negative flow curtain gas section;
• a high temperature desolvation gas flows from the desolvation region through the second opening into the negative flow curtain gas section;
• and both gas flows are exhausted through the third opening.