Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 26, 2026
07:24
Imaging Corrosion at the Metal-Paint Interface Using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
Published on: May 6, 2019
8.8K
High-Resolution Microscope-Mode Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Imaging
Yifeng Jia1, Maria Elena Castellani1,2, Kieran Cheung1
1The Department of Chemistry, The Chemistry Research Laboratory, The University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom.
Analytical Chemistry
|February 24, 2026
Summary
A new secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) instrument offers high-throughput imaging. This advanced microscope provides high mass and spatial resolution for analyzing biological samples like mouse brain tissue.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biophysics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) is a powerful surface analysis technique.
- High-throughput imaging capabilities are crucial for analyzing large biological samples.
- Existing SIMS instruments may have limitations in speed or resolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel SIMS microscope-mode imaging instrument.
- To achieve high throughput, mass resolution, and spatial resolution.
- To demonstrate the instrument's utility in biological tissue analysis.
Main Methods:
- Coupling time-of-flight mass spectrometry with pulsed ion extraction.
- Utilizing an ion imaging detector with a fast scintillator screen.
- Optimizing instrument parameters for mass and spatial resolution.
Main Results:
- Achieved mass resolutions of m/Δm ∼ 2000 (up to ∼6900 with detector improvements).
- Obtained spatial resolutions better than 5 μm.
- Successfully imaged atomic and molecular ion species in mouse brain tissue within minutes.
Conclusions:
- The developed SIMS instrument enables rapid, high-resolution imaging of biological samples.
- It is suitable for a wide range of applications requiring high throughput.
- Demonstrates potential for analyzing biologically relevant ions in complex tissues.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:15High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)
2.7K
The resolution of a mass spectrometer depends on the efficiency of separating ions with different ion masses. The mass of an atom is approximated to the sum of the masses of protons and neutrons inside, considering the masses of protons and neutrons as equal. However, the masses of the proton (1.6726 × 10−24 g) and neutron (1.6749 × 10−24 g) are not truly equal. There is a minor error in the expression of atomic masses relative to the simplest atom of hydrogen. For...
2.7K
01:37Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy
14.7K
Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SRFM) provides a better resolution than conventional fluorescence microscopy by reducing the point spread function (PSF). PSF is the light intensity distribution from a point that causes it to appear blurred. Due to PSF, each fluorescing point appears bigger than its actual size, and it is the PSF interference of nearby fluorophores that causes the blurred image. Various approaches to achieving higher resolution through SRFM have recently been...
14.7K
01:22Overview of Microscopy Techniques
17.2K
The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...
17.2K
01:24Mass Spectrum: Interpretation
3.6K
An unknown compound can be established by identifying the molecular ion peak in the mass spectrum. The molecular ion peak is often weak or absent due to the predominance of fragmentation in high-energy electron beams. In such cases, a soft-energy electron beam can be used to scan the spectrum to enhance the intensity of the molecular ion peak. Additionally, chemical ionization, field ionization, and desorption ionization spectra are used to obtain a relatively intense molecular ion peak.To...
3.6K
01:25Overview of Electron Microscopy
15.8K
The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.
15.8K
01:13Mass Analyzers: Overview
1.9K
The mass analyzer is a crucial component of the mass spectrometer. In the ionization chamber, the vaporized sample is bombarded with a high-energy electron beam to generate a radical cation and further fragment into neutral molecules, radicals, and cations. A series of negatively charged accelerator plates accelerate the cations into the mass analyzer. The mass analyzer separates ions according to their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios and then directs them to the detector. The common types of mass...
1.9K