In September a state-of-the-art cyclic-ion mobility high-resolution mass spectrometer (cyclic-IMS) will be installed in the MMK/ACES joint Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (“MassSLab”). This is the first cyclic-IMS in Sweden and one of the few in Europe. It is envisioned that this new instrument will open up exciting opportunities for novel experimentation while fostering new collaborations both within and outside of MMK and ACES.
The new cyclic-IMS has several unique features which are not available in conventional mass spectrometers. Firstly, ion mobility separation with a resolution of up to 400 can be achieved by applying multiple ion mobility cycles, enabling resolution of substances that are notoriously difficult to separate, such as isomers. Secondly, ion mobility enables deconvolution of MS/MS spectra obtained from so-called “all-ion fragmentation” or data-independent acquisition (DIA) scans. This opens up new possibilities for obtaining ‘clean’ MS/MS spectra produced by DIA during non-targeted screening.
Additionally, ion mobility can also be used to separate the fragments formed during collision-induced dissociation (CID). This is very useful to separate, identify, and quantify isomeric fragments.
Last but not least, cyclic-IMS enables IMS and collision-induced dissociation (CID) in several alternating cycles. This allows doing so-called IMSn experiments wherein an ion mobility experiment is performed, followed by CID, and thereafter a second ion mobility experiment is performed. With these experiments, we hope to clarify fragmentation pathways that are hard to understand with current methods.
For more information contact us at the MassSLab.
Anneli Kruve, anneli.kruve@su.se
Jon Benskin, jon.benskin@aces.su.se