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US 2019/0355567 A1Published application
Mass spectrometry probes and systems for ionizing a sample
AssigneePurdue Research Foundation
InventorsRobert Graham Cooks, Depanjan Sarkar, Thalappil Pradeep, Rahul Narayanan
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Abstract
The invention generally relates to mass spectrometry probes and systems for ionizing a sample. In certain embodiments, the invention provides a mass spectrometry probe including a substrate in which a portion of the substrate is coated with a material, a portion of which protrudes from the substrate.
Claims21
1-20. (canceled)
A method for analyzing a sample, the method comprising:
- providing a mass spectrometry probe comprising a paper substrate in which a portion of the paper substrate is coated with an electrically conductive material that is not a sample or a solvent, in a manner that a plurality of nanoscale features protrude from the paper substrate, the plurality of nanoscale features configured to act as a plurality of electrodes and upon application of a voltage of 3 volts or less, providing a field strength high enough to cause field emission of microscale solution droplets at the plurality of nanoscale features at a voltage that does not cause fragmentation of the analyte;
- connecting the mass spectrometry probe to a voltage source, wherein the voltage source is configured to generate a voltage of 3 volts or less;
- contacting the mass spectrometry probe with a sample;
- ionizing the sample that has contacted the mass spectrometry probe;
- and
- analyzing the ionized sample in a mass spectrometer.
3 more elements
The method according to claim 23, wherein the electrically conductive nanotubes are carbon nanotubes.
A method for analyzing a sample, the method comprising:
- providing a mass spectrometry probe comprising a paper substrate and a plurality of carbon nanotubes, the mass spectrometry probe configured such that a portion of each of the plurality of carbon nanotubes protrudes from the paper substrate forming a plurality of nanoscale features that extend from the paper substrate, the plurality of nanoscale features configured to act as a plurality of electrodes and upon application of a voltage of 3 volts or less, providing a filed strength high enough to cause field emission of microscale solution droplets at a voltage that does not cause fragmentation of the analyte;
- connecting the mass spectrometry probe to a voltage source, wherein the voltage source is configured to generate a voltage of 3 volts or less;
- contacting the mass spectrometry probe with a sample;
- ionizing the sample that has contacted the mass spectrometry probe;
- and
- analyzing the ionized sample in a mass spectrometer.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.