Ion mobility spectrometry method and apparatus

An ion mobility analysis system comprising:

• a device housing;
• a chamber internal to the housing, the chamber comprising an ionization region, an ion separation region and a longitudinal axis passing centrally through the ionizing region and the ion separation region;
• a series of annular electrodes within the chamber, at least some of the electrode in the series being aligned substantially parallel relative to each other and substantially normal to the longitudinal axis;
• a sample inlet at a first end of the device;
• an ion collector within the chamber proximate a second end of the device;
• an ionization source associated with the ionization region;
• a liquid within the chamber, the device being configured to provide an electric field within the chamber such that ions present in the chamber migrate through the liquid toward the electrode collector;
• and
• a reversible ion-migration block defining an interface between the ionization region and the ion separation region, the ion-migration block being configured to block passage of ions from the ionization region to the ion separation region until an occurrence of a triggering event which reverses the block allowing ions to migrate from the ionization region into the ion separation region.

A method of conducting ion mobility analysis, the method comprising:

• providing a chamber containing a fluid comprising at least one of a liquid and a supercritical fluid;
• introducing a sample into the chamber at a first end;
• mobilizing ions within the sample to migrate through the fluid;
• and
• detecting the mobilized ions at a second end of the drift chamber.

A method of analyzing a sample comprising:

• providing an ion mobility analysis device having a chamber disposed within a device housing, the chamber containing a drift liquid;
• introducing a sample into a first end of the chamber;
• generating ions within the sample;
• and
• mobilizing the ions to migrate through the drift liquid toward a second end of the chamber.

A method of generating ions in a sample comprising:

• providing a sample comprising molecules in a first solvent;
• providing a passage through an applied voltage;
• and
• introducing the sample into a second solvent in which the first solvent is partially soluble, the introducing comprising passing the sample through the passage to produce ions from the molecules, the ions being at least partially desolvated with respect to the first solvent.