COMPLETE MASS-SPECTROMETRY MASS-SPECTROMETRY DATA FIELD ACQUISITION ON THE CHROMATOGRAPHIC TIME SCALE BY TIME-RESOLVED ION MOMENTUM SPECTROMETRY WITH TIME-ARRAY DETECTION

Time-resolved ion momentum spectrometry (TRIMS) is combined with time-array detection (TAD) to provide the capability for rapid acquisition of complete mass spectrometry/ mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data fields. Observation of all arrival times for all values of the magnetic field strength produces a two-dimensional field from which all MS/MS scans can be obtained. The complete fragmentation map can now be obtained for each component in a mixture, separated by chromatography. Evaluation of the TRIMS-TAD Instrument with regard to data quality, integrity, and speed is performed under raw data acquisition and real-time data reduction conditions. A 5-s acquisition of the MS/MS data field for caffeine present in an aspirin tablet demonstrates the gas chromatography (GC)-MS/MS capability of TRIMS-TAD. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.