AA Shvartsburg and RD Smith

Alex Shvartsburg, Dick Smith, Keqi Tang and their collaborators can now analyze complex biochemical and other samples in minutes, opening doors to scientific study and practical applications in areas that were hamstrung by long waits for results. By coupling FAIMS (Field Asymmetric waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry) and conventional Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS), they've developed a broadly useful new technology capable of quickly separating, identifying and quantifying the components of complex mixtures. Analyses can potentially be done in seconds to minutes rather than hours to tens of hours. Web site: PNL

E-mail: rds@pnl.gov

Some selected references:

Shvartsburg AA, and RD Smith. 2007. "Scaling of the Resolving Power and Sensitivity for Planar FAIMS and Mobility-Based Discrimination in Flow- and Field- Driven Analyzers." Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 18(9):1672-1681.

Shvartsburg AA, F Li, K Tang, and RD Smith. 2007. "Distortion of ion structures by field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry." Anal. Chem. 79(4):1523.

Belov ME, MA Buschbach, DC Prior, K Tang, and RD Smith. 2007. "Multiplexed ion mobility spectrometry-orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry." Anal. Chem. 79(6):2451.

Shvartsburg AA, F Li, K Tang, and RD Smith. 2006. "Characterizing the structures and folding of free proteins using 2-D gas-phase separations: observation of multiple unfolded conformers." Anal. Chem. 78(10):3304.

Shvartsburg AA, F Li, K Tang, and RD Smith. 2006. "High-resolution field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry using new planar geometry analyzers." Anal. Chem. 78(11):3706.

GA Eiceman

The core of Gary Eiceman's research program is the exploration of ion-molecule gas phase reactions at ambient pressure in order to develop predictive models of the creation of ion mobility spectra. These studies presently involve the kinetics of thermal decomposition of proton-bound cluster ions in air. Secondary interests include the advancement of instrumentation and drift tube technology for IMS and selected applications in environmental venues. Separation sciences with gas chromatography constitutes another area of interest. Web site: Gary Eiceman

E-mail: geiceman@nmsu.edu

Some selected references:

G.A. Eiceman, A. Tarassov, R.A. Miller, E.G. Nazarov, E. Hughes, and P. Funk, "Discrimination of Combustion Fuel Sources Using Gas Chromatography-Planar Field Asymmetry Ion Mobility Spectrometry", J. Separation Science 2003, 26, 585-593.

N. Krylova, E. Krylov, J.A. Stone, and G.A. Eiceman, "Effect of Moisture on High Field Dependence of Mobility for Gas Phase Ions at Atmospheric Pressure: Organophosphorus Compounds", J. Phys. Chem. 2003, 107(19), 3648-3654.

G.A. Eiceman, B. Tadjikov, R.G. Ewing, E.G. Nazarov, E. Krylov and R. Miller, "Differential Mobility Spectrometer of Chlorocarbons with Micro-fabricated Drift Tube", The Analyst 2004, 129, 297-304.

G.A. Eiceman, E.V. Krylov, N.S. Krylova, E.G. Nazarov, R.A. Miller, "Separation of Ions from Explosives in Differential Mobility Spectrometry by Vapor-Modified Drift Gas", Analytical Chemistry 2004, 76(17), 4937-4944.

G.A. Eiceman, M. Wang, S. Prasad, H. Schmidt, F.K. Tadjimukhamedov, Barry K. Lavine and Nikhil Mirjankar "Pattern recognition analysis of differential mobility spectra with classification by chemical family", Analytica Chimica Acta, 2006, 579(1), 1-10.

Commercial Contacts

AB Sciex Inc.

The AB SCIEX SelexIONTM Technology device is an innovative tool that adds differential ion mobility spectrometry to our most sensitive triple quadrupole and QTRAP platforms. The compact, easily interchangeable unit is integrated in the ion source region directly in front of the orifice and behind the curtain plate. SelexIONTM Technology performs gas phase differential ion mobility separation based on the ion's size and shape prior to entering the mass analyzer where the compounds are further separated by mass/charge ratios. These systems deliver a new dimension of performance in differential ion mobility spectrometry for quantitation and characterization of samples requiring advanced analytical selectivity.

Information relating to FAIMS technology coupled to mass spectrometry by AB Sciex:

Web site ion mobility at Sciex

Web site absciex.com

Web site (video) video on YouTube

Thermo Scientific Inc.

Thermo Scientific ion trap mass spectrometers, when coupled with the FAIMS interface, allow users to selectively isolate target compounds based on a number of physical properties, including charge state and molecular conformation. This selection of ions occurs before the introduction of the sample into the mass spectrometer, reducing background noise, increasing selectivity and improving spectral quality.

Well-suited for proteomics applications, as much as 90% of the total FAIMS spectra have been shown to match peptide sequences. The technology is designed to meet the needs of scientists who require more definitive results and multiple modes of separation from interferences.

Improve proteomic analysis by eliminating singly charged ions Separation power of 2D LC on the timescale of 1D Increase Intra-Scan dynamic range which increases analyte detection Eliminate endogenous matrix interference from MS and MSn spectra for high confidence identification

Information relating to FAIMS technology coupled to mass spectrometry are available:

Web site http://www.thermo.com/faims

Web site thermofisher.com

Web site (video) http://www.thermo.com/faims

Owlstone Nanotech Inc.

The Owlstone microchip solution is a "dime size" FAIMS detector, with the ability to rapidly monitor a broad range of chemicals at very low quantities with high confidence.

At the heart of this platform is a breakthrough silicon sensor that can be reprogrammed to detect a wide range of airborne or dissolved chemical analytes in extremely small quantities. It works by using a proprietary form of Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS), a sensitive and proven method of trace detection. FAIMS is a variant of Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS), the current method of choice for the detection of chemical warfare agents and explosives in the field.

Web site owlstonenanotech.com

Web site (pdf file) owlstonenanotech.com