Does the Formation of a Taylor Cone in a Pulsating Electrospray Directly Impact Mass Spectrometry Signals?

ABSTRACT: Electrospray ionization (ESI) remains the dominant technique in mass spectrometry (MS)-based analyses. Here, we investigated the relationship between a crucial aspect of ESI, the formation of the Taylor cone, and the MS ion current by utilizing a triple quadrupole (QqQ) mass spectrometer coupled with a streaming high-speed camera and a 3-ring electrode system. In one test, ion current over a 30-s plume gate (a ring electrode) opening was compared with the Taylor cone occurrence analyzed offline, with Spearman's correlation coefficients consistently near 0 despite parameter variations. In another test, real-time detection of Taylor cones was synchronized with QqQ-MS, selectively opening (de-energizing) the plume gate based on the Taylor cone status. This approach enabled matching the ion cu

SUBMITTER: Chang CH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11500155 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature