Researchers from Brown University have developed a groundbreaking method for transferring ions for mass spectrometry that reduces sample loss to nearly zero. This new method utilizes a tiny capillary with an opening 1,000 times smaller than a human hair, allowing ions to be transferred directly into the vacuum of a mass spectrometer, bypassing the typical evaporation and pumping stages. The team’s nanopore ion source also has the unique ability to transfer ions dissolved in water without the need for drying them into droplets.
The innovation promises to revolutionize mass spectrometry technology by significantly improving accuracy and sensitivity while simplifying the complex hardware of mass spectrometers. Compared to conventional methods, the new approach eliminates the need for multiple vacuum pumps, making the process more efficient and accurate.
The research team, led by physics Ph.D. student Nicholas Drachman, spent a decade refining their method and custom designing their own mass spectrometer to accommodate the unique ion source. Their persistence paid off, as they successfully demonstrated that their new transfer method matches traditional methods in ion analysis but with minimal sample loss.
The team’s ultimate goal is to commercialize their idea for widespread use by protein researchers, enabling more sensitive and accurate analyses of proteins at the molecular level. This breakthrough could pave the way for sequencing proteins one amino acid at a time, a long-sought goal in proteomics. With further research and development, the nanopore ion source has the potential to revolutionize mass spectrometry and advance the field of protein analysis.
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