posted on 2019-07-26, 17:42authored byXi Huang, Jinlong Jiang, Yiming Zhang, Lingpeng Zhan, Chaozi Liu, Caiqiao Xiong, Zongxiu Nie
Microparticles
play important roles in our life. Besides chemical
compositions and morphology, the size of microparticles will also
decide their behavior in the environment or in organisms. Weighing
the mass of microparticles by mass spectrometry is a useful method
to characterize their size. In this technical note, a miniature particle
mass spectrometer with an aerodynamic desorption/ionization ion source
has been developed. We used a compact main control board to produce
an ac voltage for trapping and ejecting the particles. The sampling
process and data acquisition were also controlled by this board. We
utilized this instrument to measure polystyrene spheres, silica particles,
and mice red blood cells. Mass distributions of these particles were
obtained rapidly with good accuracy.