We have developed two new ion sources, the Dual ESI and Corona ESI, for the AccuTOF LC-TOF MS system that was introduced in the spring of 2002. The Dual ESI (Figure 1) provides two ESI (electrospray ionization) sprayers. This permits the introduction of a reference compound without disturbing or suppressing the spray of the analyte. In addition, the dual-probe system can be useful for high-throughput analysis.
The Corona ESI ion source (Figure 2) is equipped with both an ESI sprayer and a corona-discharge electrode. The combination of ESI and APCI (atmospheric pressure chemical ionization) in a single source is useful for rapid analysis of unknown elements, and for improved efficiency in determining optimal analysis conditions. In addition, the orthogonal spray ion sources feature long-term stability and easy maintenance. For further details about the orthogonal-spray API source, refer to applications note MS-021024B.