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Using a Cyclic Ion Mobility Spectrometer for Tandem Ion Mobility Experiments

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High-resolution differential ion mobility separations using helium-rich gases.

Alexandre A Shvartsburg¹, William F Danielson, Richard D Smith

¹Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.

Analytical Chemistry

|February 16, 2010

Summary

Field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) separation power is dramatically increased using helium-rich gas mixtures. This breakthrough enhances peptide and protein digest analysis, enabling new applications in proteomics and small molecule isomer separation.

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Capillary Electrophoresis-based Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange for Conformational Characterization of Proteins with Top-down Mass Spectrometry

Published on: June 8, 2021

Area of Science:

Analytical Chemistry
Separation Science
Mass Spectrometry

Background:

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), especially field asymmetric waveform IMS (FAIMS), is crucial for gas-phase separation of complex mixtures.
FAIMS offers orthogonality to mass spectrometry (MS), creating powerful FAIMS/MS platforms.
Limited resolution has historically constrained the full potential of FAIMS.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate methods for enhancing the separation capability of FAIMS.
To explore the impact of gas mixtures on FAIMS resolution and peak capacity.
To assess the applicability of improved FAIMS for biomolecular and small molecule analyses.

Main Methods:

Utilized gas mixtures containing up to 75% helium (He) in FAIMS experiments.
Evaluated separation performance using peptides and protein digests.
Assessed resolution gains for the separation of small molecule isomers.

Main Results:

Achieved resolving power for peptides and peak capacity for protein digests exceeding 100 with He-rich gas mixtures.
Demonstrated significant resolution gains, enabling separation of previously unresolved small molecule isomers.
FAIMS separation capability was dramatically increased by the use of helium.

Conclusions:

Helium-rich gas mixtures substantially enhance FAIMS separation performance.
The improved FAIMS platform offers resolving power and peak capacity suitable for advanced proteomic analyses.
This advancement opens new avenues for FAIMS in biomolecular characterization and isomer separation.