This application claims priority from British Application No. 0514843.2, filed Jul. 20, 2005 (incorporated by reference herein), and British Application No. 0519439.4, filed Sep. 23, 2005 (incorporated by reference herein).
This invention relates to mass spectrometry, and in particular to the use of mass spectrometry in conjunction with liquid chromatography or capillary electrophoresis. The invention particularly relates to a system and method that is implemented in a microengineered configuration.
Electrospray is a common method of soft ionisation in biochemical mass spectrometry (MS), since it allows the analysis of fluid samples pre-separated by liquid chromatography (LC), the ionization of complex molecules without fragmentation, and a reduction in the mass-to-charge ratio of heavy molecules by multiple charging [Gaskell 1997; Abian 1999]. It may be used in a similar way with fluid samples pre-separated by other methods such as capillary electrophoresis (CE).
The principle is simple. A voltage is applied between an electrode typically consisting of a diaphram containing an orifice and a capillary needle containing the analyte. Liquid is extracted from the tip and drawn into a Taylor cone, from which large charged droplets are emitted. The droplets are accelerated to supersonic speed, evaporating as they travel. Coulomb repulsion of the charges in the shrinking droplet results in fragmentation to ions when the Rayleigh stability limit is reached. The resulting ions can be multiply charged.
An electrospray mass spectrometer system contains a number of key elements:
Conventionally, the spray is passed from atmospheric pressure via a chamber held at an intermediate pressure. Several vacuum interfaces that use differential pumping to match flow rates to achievable pressures have been developed [Duffin 1992]. The ion optics normally consist of input and output orifices such as capillaries, capillary arrays and skimmer electrodes, and occasionally also a quadrupole lens operating as an ion guide in all-pass mode. These components are used to maximise the ratio of coupled ions to neutrals, which would otherwise swamp the chamber.
Various methods are used to promote a well-dispersed spray of small droplets and hence a concentrated flow of analyte ions. Solvent can be preferentially driven off, by direct heating [Lee 1992]. Advantages may be obtained by the use of a sheath gas flow [Huggins 1993], and nebulisation may be enhanced by ultrasound [Hirabayashi 1998].
Alignment in electrospray is not critical, and the spray may simply be directed towards the MS input. Alternatively, an off-axis spray direction may be used to promote the separation of neutrals. Co-axial lenses mounted directly on the capillary have been developed to focus the spray [U.S. Pat. No. 6,462,337]; however, there are limits to the electrode complexity that can be achieved using such simple mechanical systems.
In a conventional electrospray system, with capillaries of =100 μm internal diameter, flow rates are of the order of 1 μl min−1, and extraction voltages lie in the range 2.5 kV-4 kV. Flow rates and voltages are considerably reduced in so-called “nanospray systems”, based on capillaries having internal diameters ranging down to =10 μm [Wilm 1996]. Such capillaries are relatively easy to fabricate, and are available with a range of diameters and frits. Decreasing the capillary diameter and lowering the flow rate also tends to create ions with higher mass-to-charge ratio, extending the applicability further towards biomolecules.
Because of the reduced size of the spray cone, alignment of a nanospray source is more critical. Operation typically involves mounting the source on a micropositioner and using a video camera to observe the spray entering the vacuum inlet of an atmospheric pressure ionisation (API) mass spectrometer. Sources are sold customised for most popular brands of mass spectrometer. However, such systems are large, complex and costly.
To reduce costs, a variety of attempts have been made to integrate some of the components of nanospray ionisation sources. Ramsey and Ramsey [1997] showed that a spray could be drawn from the edge of a glass chip containing an etched capillary. Since then, integrated capillaries with in-plane flow have been demonstrated in many materials, especially plastics [Licklider 2000; Svedberg 2003]. In some cases, the fluid has been extracted from a slot rather than a channel [Le Gac 2003]; in others, from a shaped surface [Kameoka 2002]. Devices have also been formed in one-dimensional arrays. Geometries in which the flow is passed perpendicular to the surface of the chip have also been demonstrated, often by deep reactive ion etching of silicon [Schultz 2000; Griss 2002]. Such devices may be formed into two-dimensional arrays.
Almost exclusively, the advances above consist of attempts to integrate system sub-components leading up to the ion emitter. They concentrate on the fluidic part of the system, ignoring the problems of separating ions from neutrals, and of aligning the ion spray to the inlet to the vacuum system. As a result, they are not suitable for a low cost nanospray system, because accurate alignment still requires expensive positioning devices.
There is therefore a need to provide a low cost nanospray system.
The invention addresses these and other problems by providing a solution to the problems of alignment and electrode mounting in a low-cost nanospray source by using microelectromechanical systems technology to form appropriate mechanical alignment and conducting electrode features on insulating plastic substrates in an integrated manner. The approach also allows integration of features for fluid drainage, spray heating and sheath gas flow.
This invention provides a method of aligning a nanospray capillary needle, a set of electrodes, and the capillary input to an API mass spectrometer. The electrode system is formed using microelectromechanical systems technology, as an assembly of two separate chips. Each chip is formed on an insulating plastic substrate. The first chip carries mechanical alignment features for the capillary electrospray needle and the API mass spectrometer input, together with a set of partial electrodes. The second chip carries a set of partial electrodes. The complete electrode system is formed when the chips are assembled in a stacked configuration, and consists of an einzel lens capable of initiating a Taylor cone and separating ions from neutrals by focusing.
Accordingly, the invention provides a system according to claim 1 with advantageous embodiments provided in the dependent claims thereto. The invention also provides a method of fabricating such a system as detailed in the main independent method claim.
These and other features will be better understood with reference to the following drawings.
a shows the layout of a lower and
The invention will now be described with reference to exemplary embodiments as provided in
The present inventor has realised that the benefit of MEMS structures can be extended to nanospray applications. In MEMS, widely used methods of lithographic patterning, oxidation and metallisation are combined with specialised techniques such as anisotropic wet chemical etching [Bean 1978] and deep reactive ion etching [Hynes 1999] to form three-dimensional features in crystalline semiconductors such as silicon. UV exposure of specialised photosensitive polymers such as SU-8 may be used to form three-dimensional features in plastics [Lorenz 1997]. These methods may be used to combine insulating substrates, alignment features and conducting electrodes. The present inventor has realised that at least potentially, they may therefore form an integrated nanospray ionisation source at low cost.
However, further difficulties remain with the realisation that MEMS technology could be used to provide nanospray devices. The device must typically operate with high voltages, in a wet environment, so that electrical isolation and drainage are both required. The substrate material most commonly used in MEMS, silicon, is therefore not appropriate; however, other insulating materials such as glasses are difficult to micromachine. To obtain a stable spray, an electrode containing an axially aligned orifice is typically required. To obtain efficient ion separation from neutrals, electrostatic deflection or focusing is required. For focusing, further electrodes containing aligned orifices are needed. If the ion path is itself in the plane of a substrate, such orifices are extremely difficult to form by in plane patterning alone. Finally, it is desirable to integrate features capable of providing a sheath gas around the spray, of promoting nebulisation, and of preferentially evaporating solvent. For these and other reasons there has heretofore not been possible an integrated MEMS nanospray system. However, as will be understood from a review of
The overall input to the system is provided by a nanospray capillary 107. Alignment between the nanospray capillary 107 and the capillary input to the mass spectrometer 106 is provided by a microengineered chip 108. The chip contains a first set of mechanical alignment features 109 for the nanospray capillary and a second set of alignment features 110 for the capillary input to the mass spectrometer. The chip also contains a set of electrodes 111 set up perpendicular to the ion path, which may (for example, but not exclusively) consist of diaphragm electrodes. Other features may be integrated on the chip, including holes for drainage and gas inlet.
The second substrate again consists of a base 208 formed in insulating material, and carrying a further set of electrodes corresponding to a further part of the features 111 in
Using three such electrodes, a so-called ‘einzel’ or unipotential electrostatic lens is formed. This type of lens allows focusing of ions passing axially through the stack of electrodes in a simple and controlled manner, and hence allows the ion spray to be focused onto the capillary input to the mass spectrometer to present a concentrated stream of analyte ions.
It will be appreciated that the alignment grooves 202 and 204, and the electrode grooves 206 and 209, may all be defined by similar photolithographic processes, and may therefore be registered together. This aspect provides a solution to the first problem identified above in the Background to the Invention section, of constructing an accurately aligned set of mechanical features and electrodes. It will also be appreciated that the use of an insulating substrate that may be patterned with drain holes provides a solution to the problem of maintaining high voltages in a wet environment. Finally it will be appreciated that a stacked combination of partial electrodes provides a solution to the problem of forming diaphragm electrodes arranged normal to a substrate.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a variety of materials and processes and may be used to realise structures similar to
In step 1, a (100)-oriented silicon substrate 301 is first oxidised to form a SiO2 layer 302 on both sides. The SiO2 is patterned and etched to form a channel-shaped opening 303, by (for example) photolithography and reactive ion etching. In step 2, the underlying silicon substrate is anisotropically etched down (111) crystal planes to form a V-shaped groove 304. Commonly an etchant consisting of potassium hydroxide (KOH), water and isopropanol (IPA) may be used for this purpose. This step defines all capillary-mounting grooves and electrode pupils. The front side oxide is removed, and the wafer is turned over.
In step 3, the wafer is spin coated with a thick layer of the epoxy-based photoresist SU-8 305. This resist may be coated and exposed in layers of at least 0.5 mm thickness, has excellent adhesion, and is extremely rugged after curing, allowing it to be used as a virtual substrate material after processing. The resist is lithographically patterned to form a dicing groove 306 around each die, together with any drain holes 307 and gas inlets.
In step 4, the front side of the wafer is metallised to increase conductivity, typically with an adhesion layer of Cr metal and a further thicker layer of Au 308. In step 5, the front side of the wafer is coated in a photoresist 309. Since the wafer is non-planar, an electrodeposited resist is used in preference to spin-coated resist for this step. The resist is patterned to define the outlines of all electrode and alignment blocks 310, and the pattern is transferred through the metal. In step 6, the pattern is transferred through the silicon wafer by deep reactive ion etching, to form deep separation features 311 between elements. The photoresist is then removed, and individual dies are separated in step 7.
In step 8, two dies are stacked together to form a complete nanospray chip, by soldering or bonding the metal layers 312 together. Alternatively, a conducting epoxy may be used for this step. The chip is mounted on a carrier circuit board, and wirebond connections 313 are made to appropriate features on the lower substrate.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a first alternative process is offered by forming the conducting alignment and electrode elements by electroplating a metal inside a mould, which may itself be formed by a sequence of patterning and etching steps. However, this alternative requires the separate formation of a mould, which is a laborious process.
It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a second alternative process is offered by forming the alignment and electrode elements by sawing or otherwise eroding a conducting layer attached to an insulating substrate. The substrate bases may be also defined by sawing or by erosion, and the grooves may be formed, by partial sawing. However, this alternative offers less flexibility in the range of structures that may be created.
It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a third alternative process is offered by forming the substrate bases from glass, which may be patterned by sawing or (in the case of a photosensitive glass) by photopatterning. However, these alternatives again offer less flexibility in the range of structure that may be created. It will be appreciated that regardless of their shortcomings that each of the mentioned alternatives may be considered useful in the context of the present invention for specific applications.
a-9d shows different possible electrode cross sections. In the simplest realisation (
It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the electrodes may be segmented horizontally using additional spacing 904 as shown in
It will also be appreciated that the ability to provide transverse electrostatic forces using segmented electrodes allows the spray to be deflected in a time-varying manner. If the spray is oscillated using a sinoidally varying lateral force, a periodic perturbation may be induced in the spray flow. If the spatial frequency of this perturbation is chosen to coincide with the spatial frequency of Rayleigh instability in the flow pattern, the flow will be encouraged to fragment into droplets, thus promoting nebulisation.
What has been described herein is a microengineered nanospray device. While advantageous embodiments have been described it will be appreciated that certain integers and components are used to illustrate exemplary embodiments and it is not intended to limit the invention in any way except as may be deemed necessary in the light of the appended claims. Furthermore where the invention is described with reference to specific figures it will be appreciated that components or features of one figure can be freely interchanged with those of other figures without departing from the scope of the invention.
While the reference to the miniature nature of the device of the present invention has been made with reference to MEMS technology it will be appreciated that within the context of the present invention that the term MEMS is intended to encompass the terms microengineered or microengineering and is intended to define the fabrication of three dimensional structures and devices with dimensions in the order of microns. It combines the technologies of microelectronics and micromachining. Microelectronics allows the fabrication of integrated circuits from silicon wafers whereas micromachining is the production of three-dimensional structures, primarily from silicon wafers. This may be achieved by removal of material from the wafer or addition of material on or in the wafer. The attractions of microengineering may be summarised as batch fabrication of devices leading to reduced production costs, miniaturisation resulting in materials savings, miniaturisation resulting in faster response times and reduced device invasiveness. Wide varieties of techniques exist for the microengineering of wafers, and will be well known to the person skilled in the art. The techniques may be divided into those related to the removal of material and those pertaining to the deposition or addition of material to the wafer. Examples of the former include:
Wet Chemical Etching (Anisotropic and Isotropic)
These techniques can be combined with wafer bonding to produce complex three-dimensional, examples of which are the interface devices provided by the present invention.
The words comprises/comprising when used in this specification are to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0514843.2 | Jul 2005 | GB | national |
0519439.4 | Sep 2005 | GB | national |
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