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Published on: August 18, 2017
Isomer-Specific Two-Color Double-Resonance IR2MS3 Ion Spectroscopy Using a Single Laser: Application in the
Fred A M G van Geenen1, Ruben F Kranenburg2,3, Arian C van Asten3,4
1FELIX Laboratory, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Toernooiveld 7, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The capability of an ion trap mass spectrometer to store ions for an arbitrary amount of time allows the use of a single infrared (IR) laser to perform two-color double resonance IR-IR spectroscopic experiments on mass-to-charge (m/z) selected ions. In this single-laser IR2MS3 scheme, one IR laser frequency is used to remove a selected set of isomers from the total trapped ion population and the second IR laser frequency, from the same laser, is used to record the IR spectrum of the remaining precursor ions. This yields isomer-specific vibrational spectra of the m/z-selected ions, which can reveal the structure and identity of the initially co-isolated isomeric species. The use of a single laser greatly reduces the experimental complexity of two-color IR2MS3 and enhances its application in fields employing analytical MS. In this work, we demonstrate the methodology by acquiring single-laser IR2MS3 spectra in a forensic context, identifying two previously unidentified isomeric novel psychoactive substances (NPS) from a sample that was confiscated by the Amsterdam Police.
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