Introduction

JEOL introduced the AccuTOF-DART in 2005 as the first commercially available ambient ionization mass spectrometer system. The atmospheric pressure ionization interface (API) for the AccuTOF system, originally designed as a simple, rugged and reliable LC/MS interface, became the ideal platform for developing the Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) ion source. Because the DART ion source can be positioned directly in front of the AccuTOF sampling orifice without additional interface hardware, a variety of ambient ionization techniques are available to the AccuTOF-DART operator without removing the DART ion source. The third-generation AccuTOF-DART 4G system is an “ambient ionization toolbox” that allows the analyst to choose ionization methods that are best matched to the samples to be analyzed.