MASS SPECTROMETERS - INSTRUMENTATION

Developments in mass spectrometry instrumentation over the past three years are reviewed. The subject is characterized by an enormous diversity of designs, a high degree of competition between different laboratories working with either different or similar techniques and by extremely rapid progress in improving analytical performance. Instruments can be grouped into genealogical charts based on their physical and conceptual interrelationships. This is illustrated using mass analyzers of different types. The time course of development of particular instrumental concepts is illustrated in terms of the s-curves typical of cell growth. Examples are given of instruments which are at the exponential, linear and mature growth stages. The prime examples used are respectively: (i) hybrid instruments designed to study reactive collisions of ions with surfaces: (ii) the Paul ion trap; and (iii) the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. In the area of ion/surface collisions, reactive collisions such as hydrogen radical abstraction from the surface by the impinging ion are studied. They are shown to depend upon the chemical nature of the surface through the use of experiments which utilize self-assembled monolayers as surfaces. The internal energy deposited during surface-induced dissociation upon collision with different surfaces in a BEEQ instrument is also discussed. Attention is also given to a second area of emerging instrumentation, namely technology which allows mass spectrometers to be used for on-line monitoring of fluid streams. A summary of recent improvements in the performance of the rapidly developing quadrupole ion trap instrument illustrates this stage of instrument development. Improvements in resolution and mass range and their application to the characterization of biomolecules are described. The interaction of theory with experiment is illustrated through the role of simulations of ion motion in the ion trap. It is emphasized that mature instruments play a dominant role in most work using mass spectrometers. This is illustrated with recent results on the chemistry of C60+. including the formation of covalent adducts with aromatic compounds. Quantitative analysis of methylated nucleosides and structural studies of the anti-cancer drug taxol are also discussed. A compendium of mass spectrometers constructed over the past three years is provided. This includes a variety of hybrid instruments, combinations of sector mass spectrometers with traps, instruments designed to study collision dynamics, and many more.