Vortex gas flow interface for electrospray mass spectrometry
US6177669A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 28, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 28, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N30/7266
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus for efficiently removing a carrier liquid from charged liquid drops formed by electrospray ionization prior to introduction of the drops into a mass spectrometer. A central capillary tube connects a region of the low pressure vacuum system containing the mass spectrometer with a region at substantially atmospheric pressure, in which ion formation is produced by electrospray ionization. Heated, drying gas flows through a plurality of vortex forming channels symmetrically disposed about the axis of the central capillary tube which provides an entrance to the spectrometer. Gas exiting the vortex forming channels enters tangentially to the inside of a vortex drying tube with a small helix angle, causing the gas to swirl around the tube, forming a vortex. The vortex drying gas flows in a direction that is substantially transverse to the axis of the entrance capillary into the mass spectrometer. The vortex gas intersects the electrospray, separating undesired large drops from smaller drops by a vortex gas flow which imparts a centrifugal force to the drops. The largest drops are driven to the wall of the drying tube and caused to fragment into smaller drops by evaporation an…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.