CH09 - Principles of MS Flashcards
What is mass spetrometery?
The identification of molecules by determination of their molecular weight
What are the capabilities of mass spectrometery?
Qualitative and quantitative composition or organic and inorganic analyses in complex mixtures; structures of wide variety of complex species; isotopic ratios of atoms in samples; structure and composition of solid surfaces
How is a mass spectrum obtained?
- Molecule to gas phase
- Ionize
- Ions separated and detected
What are the unique aspects of mass spectrometry as opposed to other types of spectroscopy?
Does not look at spectrum of photon energies, but mass/charge ratio; must be done in high vacuum environment; discriminates among molecular and atomic isotopes
What units are used in Mass Spectrometry?
atomic mass unit (amu) also called daltons
List the components of a mass spectrometer
Inlet systems, ion sources, mass analyzers, detectors, signal processors and vacuum systems
All components except for inlet systems are held in vacuum.
inlet system
Introduces small amounts of sample
ion sources
Convert sample to ions
mass analyzers
disperses ions by m/x ratio; analogous to monochromatic in photon spectroscopies
detectors
Converts ion beam into electrical signal
vacuum systems
Must maintain high vacuum 10e-4 to 10e-8 torr
What are the 3 ways to introduce samples into the ion source?
Gas expansion (molecular leak), direct insertion\exposure probe, chromatographic inlet
What are the methods used to introduce gases in MS (name 2)?
- batch inlet; introduce through reservoir then leak the gas through a small aperture (gas expansion)
- chromatographic inlet (GC-MS)
What are the methods used to introduce solids in MS? (name 2)
- Direct insertion probe; insertion probe with sample held on end
- Direct exposure probe; sample is dissolved to a solution, a drop of the solution is placed on a glass tip and the liquids are evaporated.
What are the methods used to introduce liquids in MS? (name 2)
- Gas Expansion (molecular leak inlet) for volatile liquids
- Direct insertion probe
- chromatographic inlet (GC-MS)
Electrospray Ionization?
- When a strong electric field is applied to a liquid passing through a metal capillary, the liquid becomes dispersed into a fine spray of positively or negatively charged droplets - an electrospray.
- The highly charged droplets shrink as the solvent evaporates until the droplets undergo a series of “explosions” due to increasing coulombic repulsion of the electrons as
their droplet surface density increases. - When the droplets become small enough, the analyte ions desorb from the droplets and enter the mass analyzer.
Faraday cups advantages
- Absolute detector - reliable, can be used to calibrate other detectors
- Budget friendly
electron multipliers
most common detector for MS; like a PMT without photocathode; each successive dynode held at higher voltage; can detect less than 10e-15 A currents
Array Detectors
like multichannel array detectors; arrays of metallic electrodes are used, each acting as an individual electron multiplier detector causing an electron cascade; optical coupling by phosphorescent screen converting electrons to light
Faraday cups disadvantages
- high impedence amplifier limits speed at which it can be scanned (long response)
- The Faraday cup detector has no gain associated with it (unlike dynode-based detectors) => limited
sensitivity of the measurement.
Faraday cups principle
A metal or carbon cup that serves to capture
ions and store the charge. The resulting current of a few microamperes is measured and amplified.
electron multipliers disadvantages
The number of secondary electrons released
depends on the type of incident primary particle, its angle and energy (ions with low kinetic energy emit a weak signal).
What are the two key functions of ionization sources?
produce and remove ions
Gas phase vs desorption
gas phase: sample volatilized then ionized
desorption: sample probe ionizes sample directly into gaseous ionic state
hard vs soft
hard: ionization imparts sufficient energy to rupture bonds, producing a significant number of fragment ions
soft: ionization not as energetic, resulting mass spectrum consists mostly of molecular ion and only a few other peaks
What are the physical principles behind electron ionization?
electrons emitted from a heated filament then accelerated. electron path intersects gas sample at right angles. ionization occurs due to electrostatic repulsion
What are the primary products in electron ionization?
single charged positive ions
What is the efficiency of electron ionization?
not very efficient; 1 in 10e6
What is the molecular ion?
radical ion with the same MW as the molecule; ion peak that corresponds to the same MW as the parent
What is the base peak?
largest abundance peak or the one with the highest response
What are daughter ions?
large number of positive ions of varying masses less than that of the molecular ion
Why do peaks appear that are higher in m/z than the M+ peak?
isotope peaks and collisional product peaks
What is the most common product in electron ionization?
(M+1)+
What are the advantages of electron ionization sources?
convenient, produce large ion currents, good sensitivity, extensive fragmentation allowing for good compound ID
What are the disadvantages of electron ionization sources?
extensive fragmentation can lead to disappearance of molecular ion peak, unable to establish MW, must volatilize sample so thermal degradation possible, only applicable when MW < 1000
What is the physical principle behind chemical ionization?
gas phase soft source;
1. large excess of reagent gas such as methane, isobutane, or ammonia is introduced into the ionization region.
2. The mixture of reagent gas and sample is subjected to electron bombardment.
3. Ionization of the sample molecules occurs
indirectly by collision with ionized reagent gas molecules and proton or hydride transfer.
What are the most widely used reagent gases?
methane, isobutane, ammonia
What are the 2 main ionization reactions that occur in chemical ionization?
- proton transfer\Hydride transfer (e.g. M+CH5+→MH++CH4). forms (M+1)+ (for proton) and (M-1)+ (for hydride) peaks which enable analyte molecule identification.
- adduct formation (e.g. (M+C2H5)+)
What is the most common ionization reaction in chemical ionization?
proton transfer
How are reagent ions produced when methane is the reagent gas?
Reactions with high energy electrons
What is the most widely used reagent ions when methane is used?
CH5+ and C2H5+
How are reagent ions produced when ammonia is the reagent gas?
Proton transfer
Which is the more common chemical ionization reaction, proton or hydride transfer?
proton
What is the major result with proton transfer?
(M + 1)+
What is the major result with hydride transfer?
(M - 1)+
How does chemical ionization differ from electron ionization?
less fragmentation; simpler spectra; stronger molecular ion peak; collisions with reagent gas remove excess energy, stabilize parent ion
What is the sensitivity of field ionization?
10x less than that of EI
How does the solution droplet ionization get transferred to the sample molecules?
High electric field accumulates drops. Charged spray passes through capillary where solvent is evaporated and ions convert to gas
What is the charge state of the molecules in electrospray ionization?
multiply charged that increases linearly with MW (e.g. Mn+), especially in biomolecules such as proteins.
for what types of sample is electrospray ionization useful?
biomolecules like proteins and polymers with high MW
Why can cheap analyzers be used to analyze large molecules in electrospray ionization?
range of m/z values small enough to detect with its narrow “dynamic range” (z>1 yields small m/z values). Also, high z ions have low velocities so their peaks resolve well, even with “cheap” analyzers.
What are the advantages of electrospray ionization?
takes place under atmospheric pressures and temperatures; important fo analyzing biomolecules such as proteins and polymers having MW > 10,000; readily adaptable to direct sample introduction; multiple charging allows use of moderate resolution analyzers (z=1 ions do not resolve well due to high velocity but z>1 ions are clearly detected, even with “cheap” analyzers)
What type of ionization source is fast atom bombardment?
soft
How are Ar atoms generated in fast atom bombardment ionization?
Collision between Ar+ ions from heated rod and Ar atoms. Ar+ collide and pick up charge from Ar atoms, ionizing them. The resulting ionized Ar+ atoms are slow and are filtered out of the system, leaving only fast Ar atoms to ionize the sample molecules.
In what form is the sample usually introduced for fast atom bombardment?
liquid, glycerol mull matrix (inert solvent)
For what types of samples is fast atom bombardment suited?
high MW polar
What is continuous flow fast atom bombardment?
flow solution continuously into probe
What are the physical principles of matrix assisted laser desorption?
laser pulses produce gas ions
What is the mechanism involved in matrix assisted laser desorption?
laser ablates material from surface, creates microplasm of ions and neutral molecules; vaporizes and ionizes sample; sample mixed in alcohol solution with matrix specifically chosen to absorb UV radiation
What are the advantages of matrix assisted laser desorption?
very little fragmentation of analyte ion occurs; very large analyte parent ions can be desorbed; especially useful for polymers and biomolecules