Chip mass spectrometry couples a microfabricated fluidic device directly to a mass spectrometer so that sample handling, separation, reaction, and/or ionization occurs in channels and structures formed on the chip. The chip may incorporate capillary electrophoresis, micro-liquid chromatography, preconcentration, digestion, or mixing, but a mass analyzer remains external and measures the mass-to-charge ratios of ions delivered from the device [1]. Coupling commonly uses electrospray from a chip edge, an inserted emitter, or an emitter fabricated as an integral part of the microfluidic substrate; matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization interfaces form another class [2]. The concept is defined by integration of microfluidics with ion generation or sample introduction, not by a unique mass analyzer. It excludes conventional capillary LC–MS lacking a microfabricated device and excludes genomic or optical chips that do not produce ions for mass analysis. Essential features are a microfabricated flow or sample path, a reproducible chip-to-source interface, and transfer of generated ions into the mass spectrometer [3].
- chip mass spectrometry
- microfluidics
- integrated electrospray
- microfabricated interface
Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications • Spectroscopy • Chemistry • Physical Sciences
References
- Iulia M. Lazar; Jakub Grym; Frantisek Foret; Microfabricated devices: A new sample introduction approach to mass spectrometry. Mass Spectrom. Rev. 2006, 25, 573-594, 10.1002/mas.20081.
- Sander Koster; Elisabeth Verpoorte; A decade of microfluidic analysis coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry: An overview. Lab a Chip 2007, 7, 1394-1412, 10.1039/b709706a.
- Xiaojun Feng; Bi‐Feng Liu; Jianjun Li; Xin Liu; Advances in coupling microfluidic chips to mass spectrometry. Mass Spectrom. Rev. 2014, 34, 535-557, 10.1002/mas.21417.