Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080210861 | METHODS AND APPARATUS OF ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETER - The present invention describes apparatuses and methods that provide energy to ions in a non-thermal manner. The elevated ion energy minimizes or eliminates interferences due to clustering with polar molecules, such as water. The energized ions are separated in an ion mobility spectrometer. During the ion transportation and separation process, the elevated energy level of ions prevents them from clustering with neutral molecule inside the spectrometer. The additional electric field component only causes ions to reach elevated energy level, whereby the spectrometer can preserve its normal performance, meanwhile avoiding interference from water and other neutral molecules. A RF electric field is applied to the ions in ionization, reaction and separation region of ion mobility spectrometers. | 09-04-2008 |
20080250877 | CHEMICAL SAMPLING AND MULTI-FUNCTION DETECTION METHODS AND APPARATUS - This invention describes a sample collection method that could release and collect residues of explosives and other chemicals from a surface; the described method is implemented into a compact detection system that can be used as a “wand” for screening chemicals residues on a subject. The wand configuration includes multi-function for sampling and detecting multiple threads. The invention further describes a method of inspecting a subject using an interrogating apparatus in a sweeping motion; the near range closed loop particle sampling arrangement allows effective collection of particle and vapor residues from a targeted surface. The invention also describes a sampling and detecting apparatus for on-the-fly threat detection using compact ion mobility based detectors. | 10-16-2008 |
20090278040 | MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY METHODS AND APPARATUS - Various embodiments of a multi-dimensional ion mobility analyzer are disclosed that have more than one drift chamber and can acquire multi-dimensional ion mobility profiles of substances. The drift chambers of this device can, for example, be operated under independent operational conditions to separate charged particles based on their distinguishable chemical/physical properties. The first dimension drift chamber of this device can be used either as a storage device, a reaction chamber, and/or a drift chamber according to the operational mode of the analyzer. Also presented are various methods of operating an ion mobility spectrometer including, but not limited to, a continuous first dimension ionization methods that can enable ionization of all chemical components in the sample regardless their charge affinity. | 11-12-2009 |
20100065754 | COMPACT PYROELECTRIC SEALED ELECTRON BEAM - A non-radioactive source for Atmospheric Pressure Ionization is described. The electron-beam sealed tube uses a pyroelectric crystal(s). One end of the crystal is grounded while the other end has a metallic cap with sharp feature to generate an electron beam of a given energy. The rate of heating and/or cooling of the crystal is used to control the current generated from a tube. A heating and/or cooling element such as a Peltier element is useful for controlling the rate of cooling of the crystal. A thin window that is transparent to electrons but impervious to gases is needed in order to prolong the life of the tube and allow the extraction of the electrons. If needed, multiple crystals with independent heaters can be used to provide continuous operation of the device. The energy of the electrons can be determined through the appropriate choice of the radius of curvature of the sharp feature and the gap between the sharp feature and the window, while the opposite side of the crystal is at low voltage. The size of the gap and the radius of curvature of the sharp feature are determined by the filling gas nature and pressure. | 03-18-2010 |
20100108877 | ION MOBILITY BASED SEPARATION METHODS AND APPARATUS - The present invention describes separating components in a sample in an ion mobility based spectrometer using at least one matching property of the components other than the molecular properties in conventional ion mobility measurements in noble drift gases to enhance separation and resolution of the sample. Separation based on the matching property is realized by altering the drift media of the IMS. Besides altering drift media, energy level of ions and/or drift media are also controlled during the separation process. This invention describes an ion mobility apparatus wherein an energy source is added to the IMS that provides additional energy to the ions and/or drift media and tuning methods that involve selecting drift media and optimizing the energy level in order to achieve optimal performance. | 05-06-2010 |
20100127166 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE SEPARATION - The present invention involves a series of shifting reagents that selectively interact with a targeted functional group of biological molecules, pharmaceutical drugs, small molecules, chemicals, chemical agents, or explosives resulting in a structure selective based drift time shift in the IMS. The invention allows detecting and confirming samples using one or more ion mobility based spectrometers. | 05-27-2010 |
20100132561 | ELECTROSTATIC CHARGING AND COLLECTION - The present invention describes directly using particles collected with an electrostatic precipitator for the detection of explosives and other compounds of interest. The method and apparatus of analyzing particles involves directly measuring particles on the collection electrodes or thermally desorbing them into an ion mobility spectrometer and/or other analytical instruments. One aspect of the present invention is a particulate charging method. Another aspect of the present invention provides a means of high charging of the particulates while minimizing their collection in the charging stage. The present invention also provides a means for efficiently collecting the particulates in a second stage for sampling in a compact electrode. | 06-03-2010 |
20100148058 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE SEPARATION - The present invention describes a method and apparatus for separating chemical and/or biological samples based on selective ion-molecular interactions in the gas phase. A chemical modifier is added to the drift gas that interacts selectively with a targeted molecule in at least one component of the sample in a drift tube. The component may be impurities and/or interferences in the sample whereby the chemical modifier enhances sample resolution by shifting the components drift times. In addition, reagents can be added to the sample prior to, during, or after ionization to form a complex with selected components in the sample. In addition, one or more internal and/or external standard can also be added to the sample as a calibration for the measurement. | 06-17-2010 |
20100200745 | ION GATE METHOD AND APPARATUS - The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for transmitting beams of charged particles, and in particular to such systems and methods that employ defecting at least one set of grid elements into the same plane to form an ion gate. In addition, an operation method of closing a gate involving alternating voltages on the adjacent gate wires is described. | 08-12-2010 |
20100200746 | INTELLIGENTLY CONTROLLED SPECTROMETER METHODS AND APPARATUS - The present invention relates to improving the ability of a hyphenated instrument to analyze a sample benefiting from having the first instrument's analysis of the same sample. A fast switching mechanism can be used as the interface between an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) and a mass spectrometer (MS) such that the obtained IMS spectrum is converted into a timing diagram that controls the vacuum inlet's size dynamically during analysis of a neutral and/or charged chemical and/or biological species such that a smaller pumping system can be used. | 08-12-2010 |
20100224695 | CONTROLLING IONIZATION SOURCE TEMPERATURE - The present invention is a method and apparatus to keep the electrospray ionization at a lower temperature than the heated chamber where the desolvation process occurs. The means to cool the electrosprayer is by actively removing heat from the apparatus through heat transfer methods. This apparatus and method can be used with any ionization apparatus at high temperatures preventing the ionization source from reaching a high temperature that may hinter the normal operation. | 09-09-2010 |
20100224776 | ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETER APPARATUS AND METHODS - An ion mobility spectrometer includes a protective housing. A drift tube having at least one inlet and at least one outlet confines a drift gas. An ion gate is positioned in the drift tube. The ion gate defines a reaction region and a drift region in the drift tube. An ion detector is positioned in the drift tube downstream of the ion gate at an end of the drift region. A helical resistive wire coil is positioned around the drift tube. A power supply generates an electric field in the helical resistive wire coil that rapidly controls the temperature of the drift gas. | 09-09-2010 |
20110210244 | PRACTICAL ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETER APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CHEMICAL AND/OR BIOLOGICAL DETECTION - This invention describes an ion mobility spectrometer system for chemical detection in the field. The system allows: a high throughput operation, an interface to new ionization methods, and an interface to a mass spectrometer. | 09-01-2011 |
20110260075 | COMPACT PYROELECTRIC SEALED ELECTRON BEAM - A non-radioactive source for Atmospheric Pressure Ionization is described. The electron-beam sealed tube uses a pyroelectric crystal(s). One end of the crystal is grounded while the other end has a metallic cap with sharp feature to generate an electron beam of a given energy. The rate of heating and/or cooling of the crystal is used to control the current generated from a tube. A heating and/or cooling element such as a Peltier element is useful for controlling the rate of cooling of the crystal. A thin window that is transparent to electrons but impervious to gases is needed in order to prolong the life of the tube and allow the extraction of the electrons. If needed, multiple crystals with independent heaters can be used to provide continuous operation of the device. Dielectric shielding of the pyroelectric crystal is used to minimize discharge of the crystal. | 10-27-2011 |
20110283776 | CHEMICAL SAMPLING AND MULTI-FUNCTION DETECTION METHODS AND APPARATUS - This invention describes a sample collection method that could release and collect residues of explosives and other chemicals from a surface; the described method is implemented into a compact detection system that can be used as a “wand” for screening chemicals residues on human body. The wand configuration includes multiple functionalities for contrabands detection. The invention further describes a desorption method that can control chemical fragmentation pathway during desorption. The invention describes a combined detection device that detects trace chemicals and metal at the same time. | 11-24-2011 |
20120126109 | MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY METHODS AND APPARATUS - Various embodiments of a multi-dimensional ion mobility analyzer are disclosed that have more than one drift chamber and can acquire multi-dimensional ion mobility profiles of substances. The drift chambers of this device can, for example, be operated under independent operational conditions to separate charged particles based on their distinguishable chemical/physical properties. The first dimension drift chamber of this device can be used either as a storage device, a reaction chamber, and/or a drift chamber according to the operational mode of the analyzer. Also presented are various methods of operating an ion mobility spectrometer including, but not limited to, a continuous first dimension ionization methods that can enable ionization of all chemical components in the sample regardless their charge affinity. | 05-24-2012 |
20120126139 | MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY METHODS AND APPARATUS - Various embodiments of a multi-dimensional ion mobility analyzer are disclosed that have more than one drift chamber and can acquire multi-dimensional ion mobility profiles of substances. The drift chambers of this device can, for example, be operated under independent operational conditions to separate charged particles based on their distinguishable chemical/physical properties. The first dimension drift chamber of this device can be used either as a storage device, a reaction chamber, and/or a drift chamber according to the operational mode of the analyzer. Also presented are various methods of operating an ion mobility spectrometer including, but not limited to, a continuous first dimension ionization methods that can enable ionization of all chemical components in the sample regardless their charge affinity. | 05-24-2012 |
20120228490 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY AND SAMPLE INTRODUCTION - The IMS apparatus and methods described in this invention involve setting the ion detector at the highest potential of the drift tube and setting the ionization source at ground or near ground potential. The methods allow significantly simple sample introduction without the limitation of the high potential (voltage) concern of the front end sample delivery. The invention also describes bringing samples directly into the ion mobility drift tube. The invention further describes using single syringe for sample introduction via an electrospray ionization method. | 09-13-2012 |
20120228491 | HIGH PERFORMANCE ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETER APPARATUS AND METHODS - An ion mobility spectrometer wherein ions are separated along a drift axis while providing a drift gas flow in a direction that is substantially neither in the direction of the drift axis nor opposite to the drift axis. An ion mobility spectrometer and operation methods use a cross-directional gas flow in a drift tube and/or a segmented drift tube for pre-separation. | 09-13-2012 |
20120273667 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE SEPARATION - The present invention describes a method and apparatus for separating chemical and/or biological samples based on selective ion-molecular interactions in the gas phase. A chemical modifier is added to the drift gas that interacts selectively with a targeted molecule in at least one component of the sample in a drift tube. The component may be impurities and/or interferences in the sample whereby the chemical modifier enhances sample resolution by shifting the components drift times. In addition, reagents can be added to the sample prior to, during, or after ionization to form a complex with selected components in the sample. In addition, one or more internal and/or external standard can also be added to the sample as a calibration for the measurement. | 11-01-2012 |
20120305761 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE SEPARATION - The present invention involves a series of shifting reagents that selectively interact with a targeted functional group of biological molecules, pharmaceutical drugs, small molecules, chemicals, chemical agents, or explosives resulting in a structure selective based drift time shift in the IMS. Additional energy is used to enhance the mobility based separation; in particular, the energy level can be tuned. | 12-06-2012 |
20130009053 | PRACTICAL ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETER APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CHEMICAL AND/OR BIOLOGICAL DETECTION - This invention describes an ion mobility spectrometer and operational methods for chemical analysis. The ion mobility spectrometer allows for continuous operation and rapid temperature control to reach designed operational conditions, as well as analysis under a temperature gradient. | 01-10-2013 |
20130037710 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR THE ION MOBILITY BASED SEPARATION AND COLLECTION OF MOLECULES - This invention describes an apparatus and method with a combined primary electrospray and secondary electrospray ionization source used to enhance ionization efficiency. The solid phase as well as liquid phase sampling, ionization, and detection is described. | 02-14-2013 |
20130187037 | PARALLEL ION MASS AND ION MOBILITY ANALYSIS - The present invention relates to a parallel IMS and MS measurement method where a sample flow is split and delivered to an IMS and a MS in parallel. A parallel acquisition MS/IMS method is used to supplement LC-MS and or MS data by using a synchronized MS/IMS acquisition. | 07-25-2013 |