Flow-rate characterization of microfabricated polymer microspray emitters.
Microfabricated polymer microspray emitters are characterized in terms of applicable flow rates, temporal and spectral signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and solution composition. First, microspray emitters can be operated with 50% methanol/49% water/1% acetic acid from 250 nL/min up to 7 microL/min, with better SNRs above 1 microL/min. Interestingly, even at the lowest flow rates tested, they compare well with nanospray capillaries in terms of mass spectral performances. Secondly, they can be operated with acetonitrile from 10 up to 99% (v/v), with flow rates from 250 nL/min up to 4 microL/min. Even if the mass spectral performances (especially the spectral SNRs) vary with the acetonitrile content, this study validates such microfabricated microspray emitters as interfaces between liquid-phase separations and electrospray mass spectrometers.
Laboratoire d'Electrochimie Physique et Analytique (LEPA), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Niels
N
Lion
Jean-Olivier
JO
Gellon
Hubert H
HH
Girault
D008832:Microchemistry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D036103:Nanotechnology; D011108:Polymers; D011433:Propranolol / Q000032:analysis; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
D011108:Polymers; D011433:Propranolol