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Large-Scale Stereolithography Precision Manufactured Solid Cone-Jet Emitters for Electrospray Mass Spectrometry
Yinjia Huang1, Hanrong Wen2, Lin Lv1
1Department of Chemistry and the MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
A new solid cone-jet emitter (SCONE) manufactured using stereolithography printing offers enhanced ionization efficiency and stability for mass spectrometry. This high-throughput method enables scalable, cost-effective production of advanced emitters for sensitive biological analyses.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) relies on emitters for sample introduction, impacting analytical sensitivity.
- Developing novel emitters is crucial for advancing biological discoveries and improving ESI-MS performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a high-throughput, large-scale precision manufacturing method for solid cone-jet emitters (SCONE) using stereolithography printing.
- To evaluate the performance of SCONE emitters compared to classical tapered-tip emitters, focusing on ionization efficiency, stability, and reproducibility.
Main Methods:
- Stereolithography printing was employed to fabricate SCONE emitters with varying conicity.
- The performance of SCONE emitters was assessed by measuring ion current, reproducibility, operational range, and ionization efficiency for different analytes.
- Long-term stability and performance in challenging matrices were evaluated.
Main Results:
- Optimized SCONE emitters demonstrated enhanced ion current (340 nA), good reproducibility (RSD = 5.2%), and a broad operational range (2.6-3.0 kV).
- Ionization efficiencies were significantly improved (1.7-3.98-fold) for small molecules, peptides, and proteins compared to traditional emitters.
- SCONE emitters exhibited consistent performance over extended use and in complex biological matrices, with excellent emitter-to-emitter reproducibility across batches (RSD < 6%).
Conclusions:
- Stereolithography printing enables efficient, scalable, and economical precision manufacturing of SCONE emitters.
- SCONE emitters offer superior performance, enhanced sensitivity, and robust stability, making them suitable for high-throughput analyses of low-abundance analytes.
- This technology provides a new manufacturing paradigm for microdevices in analytical and biological applications.
