Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026
Sample Preparation for Probe Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry
Published on: February 19, 2020
Remote sampling mass spectrometry for dry samples: Sheath-flow probe electrospray ionization (PESI) using a
Dilshadbek T Usmanov1,2, Khatam B Ashurov2, Satoshi Ninomiya3
1Clean Energy Research Center, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11, Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi, 400-8511, Japan.
Rationale:
Probe electrospray ionization (PESI) is only applicable to liquid or wet samples. In this study, a sheath-flow PESI method for remote sampling mass spectrometry that can be applied to dry samples was developed.
Methods:
An acupuncture needle (0.12 mm outer diameter, 700 nm tip diameter) was inserted into a gel-loading tip with a 0.1 mm protrusion out of the tip. Analytes were extracted by filling the latter tip with solvent and softly touching the sample surface for a short time (<1 s). A high voltage was applied to the acupuncture needle, and mass spectra of analytes were obtained by self-aspirating electrospray.
Results:
Dry samples, such as lines of ballpoint pen ink on paper, pharmaceutical tablets, instant coffee, brown rice, and narcotics, gave strong ion signals. The sample carryover was negligible. The sequential electrospray was observed to be similar to conventional PESI. The limits of detection (LODs) for morphine and rhodamine B were found to be of the order of picograms.
Conclusions:
Because of its simplicity and versatility, sheath-flow PESI is a promising technique for on-site and nondestructive profile analysis of dry samples with bulky and complicated shapes, with a spatial resolution of ~0.3 mm.
More Related Videos
09:24Standardized Identification of Compound Structure in Tibetan Medicine Using Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry and Multiple-Stage Fragmentation Analysis
Published on: March 17, 2023
15:00Applications of the Single-probe: Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Single Cell Analysis under Ambient Conditions
Published on: June 14, 2016
