title: Characterization and application of a self-aspirating electrospray source with pneumatic-assisted ionization.
abstract: A single gas-assisted electrospray ion source developed for ambient mass spectrometry is introduced in this paper. Simultaneous self-aspiration and electrospray could be achieved by using a constant sheath gas flow supplied from a mini air pump. A gas dynamic study of the spray module is carried out for structural optimization. The entire device exhibits a simplified design and has been systematically characterized through both simulated and experimental investigations. According to the results, the ion source exhibited satisfactory stability and the ability for quantitative operation in routine electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the ion source can be operated as a desorption electrospray ionization source to perform direct desorption/ionization of the solid samples. The versatile source described here appears to provide a practical approach to perform ambient mass spectrometry analysis with unrestricted sampling operation, and the extensive gas dynamic studies together with the experimental characterization are believed to be helpful in building self-aspirating spray devices. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Manufacturing, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Taoyuan Steet, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
authors.forename: Q
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6995-6583
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Manufacturing, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Taoyuan Steet, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Manufacturing, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Taoyuan Steet, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Manufacturing, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Taoyuan Steet, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Manufacturing, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Taoyuan Steet, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China.|State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanology, Tsinghua University, Qinghuayuan Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: ambient mass spectrometry; desorption electrospray ionization; gas dynamic study; pneumatic-assisted ionization; self-aspirating electrospray