Analytical performance characteristics of nanoelectrospray emitters as a function of conductive coating

As miniaturization of electrospray continues to become more prevalent in the mass spectrometry arsenal, numerous types of conductive coatings have been developed with miniaturized electrospray emitters. Different conductive coatings have different properties that may lead to differences in analytical performance. This paper investigates and compares the analytical properties of a series of applied conductive coatings for low-flow electrospray ionization developed in this laboratory vs. commercially-available types. Evaporated graphite is thoroughly compared with commercially available polyaniline (PANI) coated emitters and metal coated emitters. Each set of emitters was investigated to determine various performance characteristics, including susceptibility to electrical discharge in both positive and negative ionization modes, as well as emitter reproducibility and generation of a standard curve to determine each emitter coating's limit of detection and limit of quantitation. Furthermore, evaporated graphite and polyaniline coated fused silica capillaries were investigated to determine which coating is more stable over long-term analyses and during electrical discharge.