Novel Hybrid Quadrupole-Multireflecting Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry System

A novel mass spectrometry system is described here comprising a quadrupole-multireflecting time-of-flight design. The new multireflecting time-of-flight analyzer has an effective path length of 48 m and employs planar, gridless ion mirrors providing fourth-order energy focusing resulting in resolving power over 200 000 fwhm and sub-ppm mass accuracy. We show how these attributes are maintained with relatively fast acquisition speeds, setting the system apart from other high resolution mass spectrometers. We have integrated this new system into both liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and mass spectrometry imaging workflows to demonstrate how the instrument character-istics are of benefit to these applications.

Automated summary

This article describes a new mass spectrometry system with a quadrupole-multireflecting time-of-flight design. The new multireflecting time-of-flight analyzer has a 48 m effective path length and uses planar, gridless ion mirrors, providing fourth-order energy focusing and achieving a resolving power over 200,000 fwhm and sub-ppm mass accuracy. We demonstrate how these attributes are maintained with relatively fast acquisition speeds, setting the system apart from other high resolution mass spectrometers. We have integrated this new system into both liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and mass spectrometry imaging workflows to show the benefits of its instrument characteristics for these applications.