Odhisea Gazeli*, , , Constantinos Lazarou, , , Marcos Bouza, , , David Moreno-González, , , Charalambos Anastassiou, , , Joachim Franzke, , , Juan F. García-Reyes*, , and , George E. Georghiou,
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Understanding desorption mechanisms is essential for the optimization of analytical techniques that enable the direct sampling and ionization of condensed-phase samples without preparation. The low-temperature plasma (LTP) ionization source, first described by Harper (Harper; et al. Anal. Chem.2008, 80, 9097–9104) and based on the dielectric barrier discharge principle, is among the more representative and replicated plasma-based ambient desorption/ionization tools for mass spectrometry (MS), although there are a wide array of designs and configurations. However, the fundamental desorption mechanisms directly associated with LTP and other related plasma-based sources remain unclear. In this study, we utilized plasma simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics to understand analyte release from solid samples placed on glass and exposed to the plasma of a simplified helium LTP configuration. Our simulations revealed that the accumulation of surface charge on the sample–substrate that is caused by the plasma results in localized electric fields strong enough to likely aid in disruption of analyte–substrate interactions and facilitate desorption. Importantly, our model estimates that electrons in plasma have energies of approximately 2.5 eV, suggesting this simulated energy level is an indicator for desorption efficiency. Our findings provide new insight into the complex interplay between plasma-induced phenomena and desorption processes.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry presents research papers covering all aspects of mass spectrometry, incorporating coverage of fields of scientific inquiry in which mass spectrometry can play a role.
Comprehensive in scope, the journal publishes papers on both fundamentals and applications of mass spectrometry. Fundamental subjects include instrumentation principles, design, and demonstration, structures and chemical properties of gas-phase ions, studies of thermodynamic properties, ion spectroscopy, chemical kinetics, mechanisms of ionization, theories of ion fragmentation, cluster ions, and potential energy surfaces. In addition to full papers, the journal offers Communications, Application Notes, and Accounts and Perspectives