posted on 2020-03-04, 22:13authored byQian Zhang, Yanping Zhu, Yuan Tian, Quan Yu, Xiaohao Wang
Electrospray ionization
(ESI) operating in pulse mode can enhance
the utilization efficiency of the electrospray ions by a mass spectrometer.
Herein, a novel ionization technique called induced self-aspiration-electrospray
ionization (ISA-ESI) was developed based on self-aspiration sampling
and capacitive induction. The sample solution polarized in a strong
electric field was pulsed drawn into a capillary that was connected
to a subambient chamber. The sample solution with polarized ions forms
a charged liquid column, which can initiate an electrospray when reaching
the capillary outlet. In addition to the self-aspiration ability,
the use of a constant high voltage supply and no electrical contact
with the solution can also simplify the sampling and ionization operation,
enabling a convenient ESI mass spectrometry analysis. The developed
ISA-ESI source has been used for multidimensional monitoring of chemical
reactions as well as liquid extraction surface analysis of plant tissues.
It was expected that this special ionization method could be extended
to automated high-throughput ESI-MS analysis.