title: Folded emitters for nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry.
abstract: Electrospray ionization (ESI) has revolutionized mass spectrometry (MS), providing a facile method for the ionization of macromolecules for analysis by mass. The development of nanoESI-MS has further extended the utility of ESI-MS, permitting the analysis of small-volume samples with enhanced sensitivity over conventional ESI-MS. Traditional nanoESI-MS experiments use pulled-glass capillary emitters, which are expensive to purchase and require specialized instruments and training to fabricate in-house. Furthermore, these emitters suffer from problems including clogging, sample contamination, and irreproducible spray stability. Here, we report a new emitter for nanoESI-MS, made by folding small pieces of polyimide tape. In comparison with conventional pulled-glass capillary emitters, the new emitters are inexpensive and simple to make. Their low cost makes them disposable after a single use, such that sample contamination or clogging is never a problem. Emitter performance has been evaluated for diverse analytes encompassing a large mass range, including small molecules, peptides, proteins, and synthetic polymers. In all cases, the performance is similar to that of pulled-glass capillary emitters, with the advantages of low cost, ease of use, and disposability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrea E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: Mais J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Jebrail
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Aaron R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Wheeler
mesh_terms: D010455:Peptides / Q000032:analysis; D011108:Polymers / Q000032:analysis; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D011108:Polymers; D011506:Proteins