Combination of time resolution and mass dispersive techniques in mass spectrometry

A time-resolved mass dispersive spectrometer comprising:

• a source for providing parent ions;
• a accelerator for accelerating the parent ions;
• a fragmentation region wherein at least some accelerated parent ions may fragment to produce daughter ions;
• a drift region for time separation included in said mass spectrometer, and an ion bunching device upstream of at least the drift region;
• a mass analyzer following said fragmentation region including a deflection field for angularly dispersing the daughter ions and any unfragmented parent ions as a function of deflection field strength;
• and
• a detector system responsive to ion intensity and the deflection field strength required to produce a particular angular dispersion and coupled to said bunching device for determining ion time-of-flight and thus velocity as an indicator of parent mass of a detected daughter ion, and as an indicator, in combination with determined deflection field strength, of parent and daughter ion mass.

A combined chromatography and time-resolved mass dispersive mass spectrometry system comprising:

• a chromatographic column for providing components of a sample as a function of time;
• a source coupled to the output of said chromatographic column for ionizing the sample components to provide parent ions;
• an accelerator for accelerating the parent ions;
• a drift region for time separation included in said mass spectrometer, and an ion bunching device upstream of at least the drift region;
• a mass analyzer following at least said ion accelerator including a deflection field for angularly dispersing sample ions;
• and
• a detector system responsive to ion intensity and the deflection field strength required to produce a particular angular dispersion, and coupled to said bunching device for determining ion flight time.

A combined chromatography and time-resolved mass dispersive mass spectrometry system comprising:

• a chromatographic column for providing components of a sample as a function of time;
• a source coupled to the output of said chromatographic column for ionizing the sample components to provide parent ions;
• an accelerator for accelerating the parent ions;
• a fragmentation region wherein at least some accelerated parent ions may fragment to produce daughter ions;
• a drift region for time separation included in said mass spectrometer, and an ion bunching device upstream of at least the drift region;
• a mass analyzer following said fragmentation region including a deflection field for angularly dispersing the daughter ions and any unfragmented parent ions as a function of ion mass and velocity and of deflection field strength;
• and
• a detector system responsive to ion intensity and the deflection field strength required to produce a particular angular dispersion, and coupled to said bunching device for determining ion time-of-flight and thus velocity as an indicator of parent mass of a detected daughter ion, and as an indicator, in combination with determined deflection field strength, of parent and daughter ion mass.

A time-resolved multi-sector mass dispersive mass spectrometer comprising:

• a source for providing sample ions
• an accelerator for accelerating the sample ions;
• a drift region for time separation included in said mass spectrometer, and an ion bunching device upstream of at least the drift region;
• first and second mass analyzers in tandem following at least said ion accelerator, each of said mass analyzers including a deflection field for angularly dispersing ions;
• an aperture between said mass analyzers such that only ions exiting said first mass analyzer with substantially a predetermined angular dispersion enter said second mass analyzer;
• and
• a detector system responsive to ion intensity and the deflection field strength required to produce a particular angular dispersion, and coupled to said bunching device for determining flight time.

A mass spectrometry method for determining relationships between selected parent ions and daughter ions produced by fragmentation, said method comprising the steps of:

• ionizing a quantity of sample to produce parent ions;
• accelerating the parent ions;
• facilitating fragmentation of at least some accelerated parent ions to produce daughter ions without substantial change in velocity;
• directing the daughter ions and any unfragmented parent ions through a deflection field for angularly dispersing ions;
• bunching the ions and allowing ions, at any point subsequent to bunching, to separate along a path of travel, through a drift region in the spectrometer extending downstream of the ion bunching, and effectively separate in time;
• and
• detecting ions subsequent to passage through the deflection field and subsequent to separation in time, for determining deflection field strength required to produce a particular angular dispersion, and determining ion time-of-flight through said drift region, and thus velocity as an indicator of parent mass of a detected daughter ion, and as an indicator, in combination with determined deflection field strength, of parent and daughter ion mass.