Numerical analysis of pulsed extraction of ions from a 16-Pole / 16-Wire ion trap for time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Multipole radiofrequency ion traps are versatile tools for trapping and manipulating ions. The extraction of ions from such a trap leads to broad time-of-flight (ToF) distributions, which make it incompatible with ToF mass spectrometry. In this work, we conducted numerical simulations of biomolecular ions stored in 16-pole and 16-wire ion traps to analyze their extraction characteristics. We show that the ions extracted from a wire trap with a simple upgrade exhibit ToF distributions two orders of magnitude narrower than that typically results from conventional ion traps. Further, in the upgraded design, the ions can be confined within a much narrower region, which, together with higher optical access of the wire trap configuration, makes it compatible with fluorescence spectroscopy measurements.

Automated summary

In this work, numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the extraction characteristics of biomolecular ions stored in 16-pole and 16-wire ion traps. The results show that the ions extracted from a wire trap with a simple upgrade exhibit time-of-flight distributions two orders of magnitude narrower than that typically results from conventional ion traps. Furthermore, the upgraded design allows the ions to be confined within a much narrower region, making it compatible with fluorescence spectroscopy measurements due to higher optical access of the wire trap configuration.