Recently, a novel ionization scheme for ambient MS has been introduced. It is based on a quasi-continuous laser induced plasma (LIP), ignited in front of the MS inlet. This setup comprises the advantages of an ambient probe, electro neutrality, a sufficient duty cycle, a ubiquitous plasma medium, low power consumption, the absence of solvents and high sensitivity. To assess its future applicability for the detection of volatile organic compounds, plasma properties and operating conditions are investigated to understand the processes, that lead to the unexpected formation of intact molecular ions. Comprehensive studies include optical Emission spectroscopy, shadowgraphic shockwave visualization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
An airborne laser plasma is suggested as an ambient ion source for mass spectrometry. Its fundamental physical properties, such as an excellent spatial and temporal definition, high electron and ion densities and a high effective cross section in maintaining the plasma, make it a promising candidate for future applications. For deeper insights into the plasma properties, the optical plasma emission is examined and compared to mass spectra. The results show a seemingly contradictory behavior, since the emitted light reports the plasma to almost entirely consist of hot elemental ions, while the corresponding mass spectra exhibit the formation of intact molecular species. Further experiments, including time- resolved shadowgraphy, spatially resolved mass spectrometry, as well as flow-dependent emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, suggest the analyte molecules to be formed in the cold plasma vicinity upon interaction with reactive species formed inside the hot plasma center. Spatial separation is maintained by concentrically expanding pressure waves, inducing a strong unidirectional diffusion. The accompanying rarefaction inside the plasma center can be compensated by a gas stream application. This replenishing results in a strong increase in emission brightness, in local reactive species concentration, and eventually in direct mass spectrometric sensitivity. To determine the analytical performance of the new technique, a comparison with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source was conducted. Two kitchen herbs, namely, spearmint and basil, were analyzed without any sample pretreatment. The presented results demonstrate a considerably higher sensitivity of the presented laser-spark ionization technique.
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.