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One major drawback of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is still the relatively poor pulse-to-pulse reproducibility of the signal intensity. This problem, caused by insufficient homogeneity in the matrix/analyte co-crystallization, is usually circumvented by averaging the detected ion intensity over several shots. However, during the consecutive laser pulses, the applied matrix gets depleted and only a number of subsequent experiments can be done on the same sample spot. In order to achieve the desired long-term stability in combination with a sufficient pulse-to-pulse reproducibility, recently liquid MALDI matrices have been introduced. This contribution demonstrates the promising combination of liquid matrices with high repetition rate lasers for atmospheric pressure MALDI (AP-MALDI). To demonstrate the robustness of the new approach, two different kinds of liquid matrices were used in combination with both a typical flashlamp pumped 15 Hz laser and a diode pumped solid state laser operated at 5 kHz. The latter showed a stable ion signal over more than 3,500,000 consecutive laser pulses.
A versatile ionization scheme for atmospheric pressure MS is presented. It is based on a quasi-continuous laser-induced plasma (LIP), generated by a 26 kHz pulsed DPSS-laser, which is ignited in front of the MS inlet. Analytes are determined with different sampling regimes, comprising either an ambient desorption/ionization mechanism, a liquid-phase or gas-phase sample introduction.
The MS signal closely resembles the ionization behavior of APCI-like plasma-based sources, such as DBD or DART. Though LIPs are known to efficiently atomize/ionize any sample material, mass spectra of intact molecular ions are recorded, exhibiting low fragment-ion content. To understand this contradictory behavior, the plasma properties are investigated that lead to the formation of molecular ions. Comprehensive studies include optical emission spectroscopy, shadowgraph imaging and mass spectrometry diagnostics.
The results show that the ionization of analyte does not occur in the plasma itself, but in the cold adjacent gas layer. The pulsed character of LIPs induces an expanding shockwave, which concentrically expands around the plasma core and sweeps the molecules toward the plasma edges, where they are ionized either directly by the self-emission of the hot core or via interaction with secondary reactants. However, this unidirectional transport causes a rarefaction inside the plasma center, which leads to a decrease in plasma intensity and number density. Thus, a restoration of the former gaseous medium by other dynamically equilibrated diffusion processes would be favorable. Besides gas replenishing, we demonstrate the beneficial use of an acoustical standing wave inside an ultrasonic resonator on the performance of the LIP.
Only a few years after the invention of the laser, the concept of laser microprobe mass spectrometry (LMMS), a technique which employed intense laser radiation for ion generation, was introduced. In these early studies at excessive irradiation microplasma formation could be observed to be an effective channel for ion formation. However, this plasma generation in vacuum led to undesired distortions of the mass analyzers and, thus, was discarded as an analytical ion source.
Under ambient conditions, the surrounding air effectively cools the plasma cloud, making the plasma more controllable. The resulting laser induced plasma is nowadays commonly used in laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) applications as excitation source for optical emission spectroscopy experiments. However, little effort has been made to introduce a LIBS plasma as a promising ion source for ambient mass spectrometry. The main hindrance is the transient character of laser induced plasmas that typically only has a lifetime on the order of several microseconds. This drastically reduces the duty cycle of these plasma sources. After these microseconds, the generated ions recombinate to uncharged
atoms and even newly bound molecules, making them inaccessible to mass-to-charge analyzers. The advent of high repetition lasers together with the ever growing knowledge about manipulation of charged species at atmospheric pressures allow overcoming these obstacles. This presentation will introduce an ionization scheme using a laser induced plasma as the primary ion source. We believe that this novel ionization strategy will pave the way for future applications in ambient mass spectrometry.
Laser microprobe mass analysis (LMMS) employs local ionization by a focused laser and subsequent mass analysis. At excessive irradiation microplasmas led to undesired distortions. Thus, LMMS was discarded as promising ion source. Effective cooling under ambient conditions resulted in more controllable plasmas and development of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). However, little effort has been made to combine LIBS and ambient MS, since these plasmas only provide microsecond lifetimes. After these, recombination yields uncharged and newly bound species, making them inaccessible for MS. The combination of high repetition rate lasers together with growing knowledge about manipulation of charged species at atmospheric pressure allow overcoming these obstacles.
Ambient mass spectrometry on a molecular level has become an indispensable analytical technique for the detection and characterization of organic molecules of different type, composition and size. Novel strategies, as well as fundamental and mechanistic research, has been successfully employed to obtain new hyphenated interrogation schemes, including laser ablation dielectric barrier discharge ionization (LA-DBDI) and laser ablation droplet ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS).
To approach more complex analytical problems, development yielded in a hyphenated instrument using one shared high repetition rate laser for laser desorption mass spectrometry coupled to dielectric barrier discharge postionization and Raman scattering. Raman spectroscopy displays structural information. Mass spectrometry allows for an accurate determination of the molecular mass. Thus, a combination of LA-MS and optical spectroscopy could be highly beneficial for an unambiguous identification of complicated analytical samples.
Acoustic levitation of droplets has matured to a powerful tool for containerless handling of microliter samples. In microfluidic systems the absence of confining walls is greatly beneficial because it can effectively suppress agglomeration and contamination of the sample originating at the liquid/solid interfaces. Here we present a set-up, utilizing the ?? = 2.94 µm output of a diode pumped Er:YAG laser for excitation, opening laser spray ionization to any OH-group containing solvents.
To obtain deeper insights into ongoing laser desorption processes mechanistic studies have been carried out utilizing shadowgraphy experiments. Those nicely show the evaporation plume and its spatial distribution during a time period of up to 1 ms. Achieved results allow for further sensitivity improvement via a better ionization efficiency and a better subsequent ion transmission.
A commercially available airbrush gun as a new source for spray ionization is presented. It is best operated employing moderate stagnation pressures, resulting in a sonic gas flow. A mass spectrometric investigation on the amino acid lysine and several peptides reveals that this inexpensive approach results in reproducible mass spectra. The ion patterns strongly resemble the results from other studies obtained with custom made sonic spray vaporizers. The patterns as well resemble the mass spectra recorded with electrospray devices. For a better understanding of the vaporization process, the mass spectrometry experiments are accompanied by laser induced fluorescence experiments. Inverse Abel transform of the obtained fluorescence maps allows the determination of the full 3D distribution of the spray cone. Furthermore, via exploitation of the solvatochromism of the used dye the solvation state distribution can be visualized. In addition, expansion parameters like droplet size and velocity are obtained by laser stroboscopy. The experiments demonstrate that the analyte is hardly desolvated throughout the expansion. This indicates a subsequent vaporization of the residual solvent in the intermediate pressure region of the mass spectrometer.
Advances in laser-induced plasmas have enabled various rapid and simple analytical applications. Especially, their uses in the analyses of condensed-phase samples have drawn significant attention in the past few decades. Depending on the laser energy per pulse, various analytical goals can be achieved. Laser-induced airborne plasmas allow direct analysis of species in ambient air. Importantly,
all of these applications are based on a fundamental understanding of the laser–medium interaction. Recent developments of diode-pumped solid-state lasers offer an alternative to conventional powerful, yet bulky lasers, which can specifically operate at high Repetition rates. Although these lasers deliver much lower power per pulse (mJ compared to mJ), the outstanding repetition rates offer significant improvement to meet statistical needs in some cases. In the present work, a mJ-laserinduced airborne plasma was characterized through optical emission analysis. By using a ns-timegated image detector coupled with specific bandpass filters, spatially, temporally, and spectrally resolved plasma images were recorded. Compared to conventional mJ-laser-induced plasmas, the one induced by mJ-lasers demonstrated unique features during its evolution. Specifically,
measurements of the distribution of ionic and atomic species revealed distinctive energy/matter transfer processes during early ignition of the plasma. Meanwhile, dynamic investigations suggested subsequent matter transport in the later stage.
Raman spectroscopy is becoming a commonly used, powerful tool for structural elucidation and species identification of small liquid samples, e.g. in droplet-based digital microfluidic devices. Due to the low scattering cross sections and the temporal restrictions dictated by the droplet flow, however, it depends on amplification strategies which often come at a cost. In the case of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), this can be an enhanced susceptibility towards memory effects and cross talk, whereas resonant and/or stimulated Raman techniques require higher instrumental sophistication, such as tunable lasers or the high electromagnetic field strengths which are typically provided by femtosecond lasers. Here, an alternative instrumental approach is discussed, in which stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is achieved using the single fixed wavelength output of an inexpensive diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) nanosecond laser. The required field strengths are realized by an effective light trapping in a resonator mode inside the interrogated droplets, while the resonant light required for the stimulation is provided by the fluorescence signal of an admixed laser dye. To elucidate the underlying optical processes, proof-of-concept experiments are conducted on acoustically levitated droplets, mimicking a highly reproducible and stable digital fluidic system. By using isotope-labeled compounds, the assignment of the emitted radiation as Raman scattering is firmly corroborated. A direct comparison reveals an amplification of the usually weak spontaneous Stokes emission by up to five orders of magnitude. Further investigation of the optical power dependence reveals the resulting gain to depend on the intensity of both, the input laser fluence and the concentration of the admixed fluorophore, leaving SRS as the only feasible amplification mechanism. While in this study stable large droplets have been studied, the underlying principles also hold true for smaller droplets, in which case significantly lower laser pulse energy is required. Since DPSS lasers are readily available with high repetition rates, the presented detection strategy bears a huge potential for fast online identification and characterization routines in digital microfluidic devices.
Optical elemental analysis in the gas phase typically relies on electrically driven plasmas. As an alternative approach, laser-induced plasmas (LIPs) have been suggested but have so far been only scarcely used.
Here, a novel signal enhancement strategy for laser-based airborne plasma optical Emission spectroscopy for gas phase analytics is presented. In contrast to an electrically driven plasma, in the laser-induced analogue dynamic matter transport equilibrium builds up. The latter results in a rarefied density regime in the plasma core itself, surrounded by an area of compressed matter. The central rarefaction leads to a decrease in plasma intensity and analyte number density, both of which are detrimental for analytical purposes. Since the repetitive ignition of LIPs is a transient process, a restoration of the former gaseous medium by other dynamically equilibrated diffusion processes would be favourable. The presented combination of an airborne LIP and an ultrasonic acoustic resonator yields a fourfold signal enhancement while the Background contribution of ubiquitous air is at the same time effectively suppressed. Since the entire enhancement effect occurs without contact, no additional sources for abrasive sample contamination are introduced.