Department of Chemistry , Illinois State University , Normal , Illinois 61790 , United States.
Department of Comparative Pathobiology , Purdue University , West Lafayette , Indiana 47907 , United States.
J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2020 Feb 5;31(2):336-346. doi: 10.1021/jasms.9b00098. Epub 2019 Dec 31.
The complexity of field-borne sample matrices and the instrumental constraints of portable mass spectrometers (MS) often necessitate that preparative steps are added prior to ambient MS methods when operated on-site, but the corresponding decrease in throughput and experimental simplicity can make field operation impractical. To this end, we report a modified ambient MS method, filter cone spray ionization (FCSI), specifically designed for simple, yet robust, processing of bulk forensic evidence and environmental samples using a fieldable MS system. This paper-crafted source utilizes low-cost laboratory consumables to produce a conical structure that serves as a disposable, spray-based ionization source. Integrated extraction and filtration capabilities mitigate sample heterogeneity and carryover concerns and expedite sample processing, as characterized through the analysis of a variety of authentic forensic evidence types (e.g., abused pharma tablets, counterfeit/adulterated tablets, crystal-based drugs, synthetic marijuana, toxicological specimens) and contaminated soil samples. The data presented herein suggests that the FCSI-MS design could prove robust to the rigors of field-borne, bulk sample screening, overcoming the inefficiencies of other ambient MS methods for these sample classes. Novel applications of FCSI-MS are also examined, such as the coupling to trace evidence vacuum filtration media.
现场采集样本基质的复杂性和便携式质谱仪（MS）的仪器限制，通常需要在现场操作环境 MS 方法时添加预处理步骤，但相应的通量和实验简洁性降低可能会使现场操作变得不切实际。为此，我们报告了一种改良的环境 MS 方法，即过滤圆锥喷雾电离（FCSI），专门用于使用可现场使用的 MS 系统对大量法医证据和环境样本进行简单而稳健的处理。这种纸制源利用低成本的实验室耗材产生一个锥形结构，用作一次性、基于喷雾的电离源。集成的提取和过滤功能减轻了样品异质性和交叉污染的问题，并加快了样品处理速度，这通过对各种真实法医证据类型（例如，滥用药物片剂、假冒/掺假片剂、晶体药物、合成大麻、毒理学标本）和污染土壤样品的分析得到了验证。本文提出的结果表明，FCSI-MS 的设计可以经受住现场采集、大量样本筛选的严格要求，克服了其他环境 MS 方法在这些样本类别中的效率低下的问题。还研究了 FCSI-MS 的新应用，例如与痕量证据真空过滤介质的耦合。
