Mass spectrometry with time-offset electrospray ion beams

A mass spectrometry system comprising:

• an electrospray ion source configured to produce ions;
• and
• one or more mass analyzers configured to analyze the ions,
• wherein:
• the electrospray ion source includes at least a first electrospray emitter and a second electrospray emitter,
• the first electrospray emitter is configured to produce a first ion beam, and
• the second electrospray emitter is configured to produce a second ion beam,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured to analyze the first ion beam produced by the first electrospray emitter and the second ion beam produced by the second electrospray emitter,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured to perform MS1 measurements of the first ion beam and the second ion beam simultaneously and to generate a combined chromatogram based on ion intensities,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured to generate the combined chromatogram based on intensities of the ions,
• a first analyte mixture and a second analyte mixture are ionized by the first electrospray emitter and the second electrospray emitter of the electrospray ion source, respectively,
• the combined chromatogram includes peaks corresponding to the first analyte mixture and peaks corresponding to the second analyte mixture,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured to analyze the first analyte mixture to produce a first chromatogram, and the mass spectrometry system is configured to analyze the second analyte mixture to produce a second chromatogram,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured such that ions corresponding to at least one analyte of the first analyte mixture produce a first chromatographic peak having an apex at a first point in time (T1), and ions corresponding to at least one analyte of the second analyte mixture produce a second chromatographic peak having an apex at a second point in time (T2),
• the first point in time (T1) and the second point in time (T2) are separated by a predetermined time delay or time offset (deltaT), and
• and the first chromatographic peak and the second chromatographic peak are two peaks of the combined chromatogram that are separated by the predetermined time delay or time offset (deltaT).

A method for mass spectrometry analysis comprising:

• producing ions with an electrospray ion source;
• and
• performing the mass spectrometry analysis of the ions by a mass spectrometry system,
• wherein:
• the electrospray ion source includes at least a first electrospray emitter and a second electrospray emitter,
• producing the ions with the electrospray ion source includes producing a first ion beam from the first electrospray emitter, and producing a second ion beam from the second electrospray emitter,
• performing the mass spectrometry analysis includes analyzing the first ion beam produced by the first electrospray emitter and the second ion beam produced by the second electrospray emitter,
• performing the mass spectrometry analysis includes performing MS1 measurements of the first ion beam and the second ion beam simultaneously, and generating a combined chromatogram,
• performing the mass spectrometry analysis includes generating the combined chromatogram based on intensities of the ions,
• the combined chromatogram includes peaks corresponding to the first ion beam and peaks corresponding to the second ion beam,
• a first chromatographic peak corresponds to an earliest or latest peak in time of the peaks corresponding to the first ion beam, and a second chromatographic peak corresponds to an earliest or latest peak in time of the peaks corresponding to the second ion beam,
• the first chromatographic peak and the second chromatographic peak are two peaks of the combined chromatogram that are separated by a predetermined time delay or time offset (deltaT),
• a first point in time (T1) corresponds to an apex of the first chromatographic peak, and a second point in time (T2) corresponds to an apex of the second chromatographic peak, and
• the first point in time (T1) and the second point in time (T2) are separated by the predetermined time delay or time offset (deltaT).

A mass spectrometry system comprising:

• an electrospray ion source configured to produce ions;
• and
• one or more mass analyzers configured to analyze the ions,
• wherein;
• the electrospray ion source includes at least a first electrospray emitter and a second electrospray emitter,
• the first electrospray emitter is configured to produce a first ion beam, and the second electrospray emitter is configured to produce a second ion beam,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured to analyze the first ion beam produced by the first electrospray emitter and the second ion beam produced by the second electrospray emitter,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured to perform MS1 measurements of the first ion beam and the second ion beam simultaneously, and is configured to generate a combined chromatogram,
• the mass spectrometry system is configured to generate the combined chromatogram based on intensities of the ions,
• the combined chromatogram includes peaks corresponding to the first ion beam and peaks corresponding to the second ion beam,
• a first chromatographic peak corresponding to the first ion beam and a second chromatographic peak corresponding to the second ion beam are two peaks of the combined chromatogram,
• the first chromatographic peak corresponds to a first group of molecules of an analyte introduced via the first electrospray emitter during a first time interval, and the second chromatographic peak corresponds to of a second group of molecules of the analyte introduced via the second electrospray emitter during a second time interval
• the first chromatographic peak has a first apex at a first point in time (T1), and the second chromatographic peak has a second apex at a second point in time (T2), and
• the first point in time (T1) and the second point in time (T2) are separated by a predetermined time delay or time offset (deltaT).