Electrospray methods and apparatus for trace analysis
US5572023A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 30, 1995 |
| Grant date | Nov 5, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 30, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J49/0431
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Electrospray equipment and techniques are provided for receiving a liquid solution containing test molecules of interest and solvent and forming ionized droplets of interest for analysis by a mass spectrometer. The flow path within the electrically charged spray needle 16 may be filled with a packing material 20 for adsorbing selected chemicals in the liquid solution before being discharged from the spray needle into a vaporizing chamber 33. The spray needle preferably comprises a fused silica capillary tubing, and the discharge end 25 of the capillary tubing is spaced closely adjacent an exit orifice 31 of the vaporizer probe 12. Inert gas such as pure nitrogen is input to the probe. The techniques of the present invention are particularly well suited for mass spectrometer analysis of low flow rate test material.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.