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US 5,180,914 AGranted
Mass spectrometry systems
AssigneeKratos Analytical Limited
InventorsStephen C. Davis, Sydney Evans
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mass spectrometry system comprises a source of ions for analysis, an ion storage device for separating the source ions as a function of their different mass-to-charge ratios, means for dissociating the separated source ions in order to generate daughter ions and an ion mirror for analyzing the daughter ions as a function of the mass-to-charge ratios. The mass spectrometry system has particular utility in the analysis of large molecules contained in biological and biochemical samples.
Claims22
A mass spectrometry system comprising
- a source of ions for analysis,
- a first time-of-flight means for separating the source ions according to their mass-to-charge ratios,
- and a second time-of-flight means for analysing the mass-to-charge ratios of source ions which exit the first time-of-flight means and/or daughter ions derived from such source ions,
- wherein the first time-of-flight means is an ion storage device comprising field generating means for subjecting the source ions to an electrostatic retarding field during an initial part only of a preset time interval, the electrostatic retarding field having a spatial variation such that source ions which have the same mass-to-charge ratio and enter the ion storage device at different times during said initial part of the preset time interval are all brought to a time focus during the remaining part of that preset time interval.
1 more element
A mass spectrometry system comprising
- a source of ions for analysis,
- a first time-of-flight means for separating the source ions according to their mass-to-charge ratios,
- a second time-of-flight means for analysing the mass-to-charge ratios of source ions which exit the first time-of-flight means and/or daughter ions derived from such source ions, the second time-of-flight means comprising an ion mirror for subjecting ions to an electrostatic reflecting field in the form of an electrostatic quadrupole field whereby the flight times of ions through the ion mirror depend on their mass-to-charge ratios and are independent of their energies,
- and control means for controlling the trajectories of ions entering the ion mirror,
- wherein the electrostatic reflecting field reflects ions that are to be analysed toward a detector and the control means controls the spatial separation of the ions detected by the detector.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.