Gold implantation/deposition of biological samples for laser desorption two and three dimensional depth profiling of biological tissues

A method for creating and analyzing secondary ions from a sample comprising the steps of:

• impinging incident ions onto said sample to form secondary ions;
• cooling said secondary ions, said step of cooling comprising contacting said secondary ions with one ore more gases;
• and,
• transporting said secondary ions into a mass spectrometer.

A method for the mobility resolution of secondary ions desorbed from a sample, comprising the steps of:

• impinging incident ions onto said sample to form secondary ions;
• cooling said secondary ions, said step of cooling comprising contacting said secondary ions with one ore more gases;
• and,
• separating said secondary ions in a drift tube by ion mobility.

An apparatus for the analysis of a sample, said apparatus comprising:

• a first component selected from the group consisting of a cluster ion beam source, a vapor deposition system, a laser ablation deposition system, an electrospray ionization source, an ionized aerosol generator, and any combination thereof;
• a first ion mobility drift cell fluidly coupled to said component;
• said ion mobility drift cell configured such that its output is directed to said sample;
• and,
• a mass spectrometer fluidly coupled to said sample such that material emitted by said sample is introduced into said mass spectrometer.

An apparatus for the analysis of a sample, said apparatus comprising:

• a first component selected from the group consisting of a cluster ion beam source, a vapor deposition system, a laser ablation deposition system, an electrospray ionization source, an ionized aerosol generator, and any combination thereof;
• a first ion mobility drift cell fluidly coupled to said component;
• said ion mobility drift cell configured such that its output is directed to said sample;
• and,
• a second ion mobility drift cell fluidly coupled to said sample such that material emitted by said sample is introduced into said second ion mobility drift cell.