Enhanced separations strategies for complex sample characterization using ion mobility-mass spectrometry

Abstract

Ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) is an analytical technique used to separate gas-phase ions based on their structural properties such as size and shape as well as their mass, in the IM and MS dimensions, respectively. Furthermore, this analytical technique has become a widely used tool for a wide variety of fields. Its great sensitivity and selectivity provides scientists numerous advantages for the analysis of complex samples of numerous analyte types (biomolecules, synthetic polymers, metals, etc.) spanning a broad dynamic range. It is well known, that MS can be greatly improved when a separation is performed prior to ionization, more commonly liquid chromatography (LC). However, in the pursuit of faster separations and increased analyte coverage, both gas- and condensed phase techniques such as ion mobility (IM), supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) have been implemented. Their orthogonality was explored in the metabolome characterization of a wide variety of biological and synthetic samples.