Parallel RF Multipole Ion Storage Bank for Mass Spectrometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mass spectrometers struggle to handle rapidly changing ion peaks and small ion quantities due to limitations in ion storage and separation methods, which restrict their ability to accumulate and analyze ions from consecutive separation runs effectively.
Innovation Solution
A bank of parallel RF multipole rod storage cells, where neighboring cells share pole rods to facilitate the transfer of ion clouds using electric voltage pulses, allowing for efficient movement and accumulation of ions without mixing, and operation at varying damping gas pressures to achieve fast thermalization and transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If ions are stored in a single ion storage device, then the structure is simple, but ions from consecutive separation runs mix together and cannot be accumulated
Solution Approach 1:
The ion storage device is divided into multiple storage cells (first storage cell, second storage cell, etc.) that can independently store ion clouds. Each cell can be separately filled and emptied, enabling accumulation of ions from multiple separation runs while maintaining operational simplicity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
Storage cells are arranged in a nested or sequential configuration where ion clouds can be transferred from one cell to another in a defined sequence. The cells share common electrodes and vacuum chambers, creating a compact nested structure that enables complex accumulation functionality without proportionally increasing overall device size
2Productivity
If separation methods operate at high speed, then productivity increases, but ion peaks change too rapidly for effective storage and analysis
Solution Approach 1:
Ion clouds are captured and stored in storage cells immediately upon generation from separation runs, before the separation process completes. This preliminary storage allows the system to accumulate ions from multiple rapid separation cycles and then transfer them for analysis at a later, more convenient time, effectively decoupling the fast separation process from the slower analysis process
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple storage cells act as intermediary buffers between the fast separation source and the mass analyzer. Ions are temporarily held in these intermediate storage locations, allowing time-matched transfer to the analyzer while maintaining the high-speed separation capability of the source
3Quantity of substance
If more ion storage cells are added to enable accumulation, then ion accumulation capability improves, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple storage cells share common structural elements including vacuum chambers, electrode assemblies, and control electronics. By merging these components across cells rather than providing separate systems for each cell, the design achieves multi-cell accumulation capability while significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the accumulation of ions from consecutive separation runs, allowing for timely and efficient analysis, even with fast separation methods, and supports diverse analytical processes such as fragmentation and mass separation, enhancing the dynamic range of measurement and ion mobility analysis.
Implementation Method 1
the contents of the storage cells can be moved into adjacent storage cells by electric voltage pulses at selected pole rod pairs
Implementation Method 2
operation at varying damping gas pressures to achieve fast thermalization and transfer
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to instruments for storing ions in more than one ion storage device and to the use of the storage bank thus created. The ion storage bank includes several storage cells configured as RF multipole rod systems, where the cells contain damping gas and are arranged in parallel. Each pair of pole rods is used jointly by two immediately adjacent storage cells such that the ions collected can be transported from one storage cell to the next by briefly applying DC or AC voltages to individual pairs of pole rods. The ions can thus be transported to storage cells in which they are fragmented or reactively modified, or from which they can be fed to other spectrometers. In particular, a circular arrangement of the storage cells on a virtual cylindrical surface makes it possible to accumulatively fill the storage cells with ions of specific fractions from temporally sequenced separation runs.