This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Applications No. 10-2021-0178827 filed on Dec. 14, 2021 and No. 10-2022-0118993 filed on Sep. 21, 2022, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a remote chamber and a DART-MS system using the same, and to a remote chamber capable of enhancing the degree of spatial freedom between a direct analysis in real time (DART) instrument and a mass spectrometry (MS) instrument and giving additional conditions to a sample, and a DART-MS system using the same.
Ambient ionization mass spectrometry is a mass spectrometry technique in which sample preparation processes are minimized, with capability of quickly analyzing the molecular weight and structure of a target material through the ionization process in the atmosphere.
Direct analysis in real time-mass spectrometry (DART-MS) is an apparatus capable of analyzing molecular weight and structure of materials by desorption and ionization of the target material using heated metastable He gas from an ion source and reactive ions generated therefrom. Despite of advantages of simply carrying out analysis by positioning the sample between the ion source and the MS under atmospheric pressure, technological development is required for increasing the concentration of a sample in the atmosphere and improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the spectrum thereby for application to a wider range of samples. From this point of view, the desorption efficiency of the sample, the ionization efficiency, and the efficient collection and transmission of the generated ions may be important factors for improving detection sensitivity.
In addition, since sampling in ambient mass spectrometry such as DART-MS, DESI-MS, LA-DART-MS, LAESI-MS, and the like is carried out in an open space, apparatuses must be densely arranged to secure a certain level of detection sensitivity, and such the arrangement hinders the introduction of additional analytical instruments such as optical microscopy and devices for giving additional conditions (light, heat, electricity, vacuum, etc.) to the sample, thus limiting the size of the sample that is applicable.
Therefore, an analytical apparatus capable of overcoming the above issues and grasping the complexity of the sample is required.
The present disclosure relates to a remote chamber and a DART-MS system using the same, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a remote chamber capable of enhancing the degree of spatial freedom between a direct analysis in real time (DART) instrument and a mass spectrometry (MS) instrument and giving additional conditions to a sample, and a DART-MS system using the same.
Technical objects to be achieved by the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical objects not mentioned will be clearly understood from the description below by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.
A remote chamber of the present disclosure may include
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, the upper chamber may include a sidewall part of which upper and lower portions are opened, a ceiling coupled to an upper end of the sidewall part, an inlet formed on one side wall of the sidewall part for carrier gas to be injected, an outlet formed on the other side wall of the sidewall part to discharge the carrier gas and the component desorbed from the sample, and a gas guide which is inserted into the first space and in which the guide flow path is formed.
A DART-MS system of the present disclosure may include a remote chamber configured to accommodate a sample therein; a light source unit configured to irradiate a laser to the sample through a window formed at an upper end of the remote chamber; a carrier gas supply unit configured to supply carrier gas to an internal space of the remote chamber through an inlet formed in the remote chamber; a gas transfer tube having one end connected to an outlet formed in the remote chamber and configured to discharge a material to be analyzed separated from the sample; an ionization unit configured to ionize the material to be analyzed by emitting a helium beam to the material to be analyzed discharged to the other end of the gas transfer tube; and a mass spectrometry unit configured to intake and analyze the ionized material to be analyzed, wherein the remote chamber may include an upper chamber which is provided with the window, inlet, and outlet and in which a first space is formed, and a lower chamber which is coupled to a lower end of the upper chamber and in which a second space configured to accommodate the sample is formed.
A remote chamber and a DART-MS system using the same of the present disclosure may enhance the degree of spatial freedom between a direct analysis in real time (DART) instrument and a mass spectrometry (MS) instrument and give additional conditions to the sample.
A remote chamber and a DART-MS system using the same of the present disclosure have a remote chamber capable of light irradiation, temperature and vacuum control, electricity supply, and gas flow, thereby enabling in-situ mass spectrometry.
A remote chamber of the present disclosure may include:
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, the upper chamber may include a sidewall part of which upper and lower portions are opened, a ceiling coupled to an upper end of the sidewall part, an inlet formed on one side wall of the sidewall part for carrier gas to be injected, an outlet formed on the other side wall of the sidewall part to discharge the carrier gas and the component desorbed from the sample, and a gas guide which is inserted into the first space and in which the guide flow path is formed.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, the gas guide may include a first opening facing the inlet, a second opening facing the outlet, and a third opening facing the sample, the first opening may be located at one end of the guide flow path, the second opening may be located at the other end of the guide flow path, and the third opening may be located downward from the center of the guide flow path.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, when a direction perpendicular to a vertical direction is a first direction, and a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and the first direction is a second direction, the guide flow path may extend in the first direction, the third opening may be located between the first opening and the second opening on the first direction, a length of the guide flow path in the second direction may become shorter as it is closer to the first opening from the center of the third opening, and the length of the guide flow path in the second direction may become shorter as it is closer to the second opening from the center of the third opening.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, on a cross-section perpendicular to a vertical direction of the gas guide, the guide flow path may be provided in a streamlined shape with a major axis in the first direction and a minor axis in the second direction.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, a window formed of a material capable of transmitting light may be formed in the ceiling, the gas guide may further include a fourth opening at a position facing the window, and a laser irradiated from the outside may pass through the window, the fourth opening, and the third opening to be irradiated onto the sample.
In the second space of the remote chamber of the present disclosure, a heater configured to heat the sample may be provided in the second space, a lower end of the heater may be fixed to a bottom surface of the lower chamber, and a side surface of the heater may be separated from an inner surface of the lower chamber.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, the heater may be configured to heat the sample to a temperature of 20° C. to 1000° C.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, the heater may include a heating member configured to generate heat, and a sample mounting disk fixed to an upper end of the heating member.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, the heater may further include a ring-shaped guide ring coupled to a circumference of the sample mounting disk, and a vertical length of the guide ring may be longer than that of the sample mounting disk.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, the sample mounting disk and the guide ring may be formed of gold coated copper or stainless steel.
In the remote chamber of the present disclosure, a cooling flow path configured to cool the second space may be formed on the bottom surface of the lower chamber.
A DART-MS system of the present disclosure may include a remote chamber configured to accommodate a sample therein; a light source unit configured to irradiate a laser to the sample through a window formed at an upper end of the remote chamber; a carrier gas supply unit configured to supply carrier gas to an internal space of the remote chamber through an inlet formed in the remote chamber; a gas transfer tube having one end connected to an outlet formed in the remote chamber and configured to discharge a material to be analyzed separated from the sample; an ionization unit configured to ionize the material to be analyzed by emitting a helium beam to the material to be analyzed discharged to the other end of the gas transfer tube; and a mass spectrometry unit configured to intake and analyze the ionized material to be analyzed, wherein the remote chamber may include an upper chamber which is provided with the window, inlet, and outlet and in which a first space is formed, and a lower chamber which is coupled to a lower end of the upper chamber and in which a second space configured to accommodate the sample is formed.
In the DART-MS system of the present disclosure, the lower end of the upper chamber and an upper end of the lower chamber may be opened such that the first space and the second space are connected, the window may be formed in an upper end of the upper chamber, the light source unit may be configured to irradiate a laser downward from an upper portion of the remote chamber, and the laser may reach the sample by passing through the window.
In the DART-MS system of the present disclosure, a horizontal moving stage configured to adjust a position of the remote chamber may be coupled to a lower end of the remote chamber.
Hereinafter, example embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, the size or shape of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. In addition, terms specifically defined in consideration of configurations and operations of the present disclosure may vary depending on the intention or custom of a user or operator. Definitions of these terms should be made based on the context throughout this specification.
In the description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that orientation or positional relationships indicated by the terms such as “center”, “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “inside”, “outside”, “one side”, and “the other side” are based on orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings or orientation or positional relationships usually of disposition when a product of the present disclosure is used, are merely for the description and brief illustration of the present disclosure, and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure because they are not suggesting or implying that the indicated apparatus or element must be configured or operated in the specified orientation with the specified orientation.
Hereinafter, with reference to
As shown in
The light source unit 200 to emit a laser may be configured to emit the laser downward from the upper portion of the remote chamber 100, and the laser emitted from the light source unit 200 may reach the sample located inside the remote chamber 100 by passing through the window 112a provided at the upper end of the remote chamber 100. The light source unit 200 may be selected among laser light sources in the range of UV to IR. For example, the light source unit 200 may be a light source that emits a laser in a wavelength of about 400 nm.
The carrier gas supply unit 300 may be configured to supply gas carrying a component desorbed from the sample into the remote chamber 100. The carrier gas injected into the remote chamber 100 through the carrier gas supply unit 300 may push the component desorbed from the sample into the gas transfer tube 400 to face heated meta-stable beam at an outlet port of the gas transfer tube 400. The carrier gas supplied by the carrier gas supply unit 300 may be nitrogen, helium, neon, argon, and the like.
The gas transfer tube 400 may be a flow path configured to allow aerosol generated inside the remote chamber 100 to move to a location where the ionization unit 500 emits a helium beam. For example, the gas transfer tube 400 may be a Teflon tube, urethane tube, silicone tube, and the like. The gas transfer tube 400 may be provided in a length of several centimeters to tens of meters and preferably formed of in a flexible material for the degree of freedom in the layout relationship among devices. For example, the gas transfer tube 400 may be provided in a length of 50 cm to 100 cm.
The ionization unit 500 may be configured to emit a heated meta-stable beam to the component desorbed from the sample. The ionization unit 500 may be disposed to allow an emission port of the ionization unit 500 from which the helium beam is emitted to face an inlet port of the mass spectrometry unit 600.
The mass spectrometry unit 600 may be a mass spectrometer and configured to separate and detect ionized molecules with different mass-to-charge ratios (m/z).
As shown in
The lower end of the upper chamber 110 and the upper end of the lower chamber 120 may be opened to connect the first space 110a and the second space 120a, the window 112a may be formed at the upper end of the upper chamber 110, the light source unit 200 may be configured to irradiate the laser downward from the upper portion of the remote chamber 100, and the laser may reach the sample by passing through the window 112a.
In other words, in the remote chamber 100, the lower chamber 120 may be configured to accommodate a sample therein, the second space 120a may be formed as a space in which conditions such as voltage or current application, heating, and cooling are given to the sample, and the first space 110a may be formed, in the upper chamber 110, as a space configured to receive the component desorbed from the sample located in the second space 120a of the lower chamber 120 to discharge the component to a gas discharge tube.
As shown in
If necessary, if vacuum formation is required inside the remote chamber 100, a vacuum pump may be connected to the inlet 111a or the outlet 111b to form a vacuum inside the remote chamber 100.
As shown in
The gas guide 113 may be inserted into the first space 110a. The gas guide 113 may prevent the carrier gas carrying the component desorbed from the sample from forming a vortex by colliding with inner walls in the upper chamber 110 and limit a space through which the actual fluid flows to enhance the detection sensitivity.
As shown in
Specifically, in correspondence to the inlet 111a and the outlet 111b that are formed to face each other on each of the paired side walls of the upper chamber 110 facing each other, the first opening 113a and the second opening 113b may be located on side surfaces, the third opening 113c may be formed at the bottom surface, and the fourth opening 113d may be formed on the ceiling surface. In other words, the guide flow path 113e may be provided as a streamlined flow path that extends in the x-axis direction, as shown in
In other words, setting the x-axis direction as a first direction and the y-axis direction as a second direction, the guide flow path 113e may be provided in a shape extending in the first direction. The third opening 113c in the first direction may be located between the first opening 113a and the second opening 113b.
The length of the guide flow path 113e in the second direction may become shorter as it is closer to the first opening 113a from the center of the third opening 113c, and that of the guide flow path 113e in the second direction may become shorter as it is closer to the second opening 113b from the center of the third opening 113c. In other words, the guide flow path 113e may be provided in a shape whose width tapers as it is closer to the inlet 111a or the outlet 111b from the center. A pair of side walls connecting the first opening 113a and the second opening 113b may be provided as a curved surface of a shape that is plane-symmetrical to each other.
For example, on a cross-section perpendicular to the vertical direction of the gas guide 113, the guide flow path 113e may be provided in a streamlined shape having the first direction as a major axis and the second direction as a minor axis.
In the gas guide 113, thermal insulation hollows 113f may be formed on both sides of the guide flow path 113e. The thermal insulation hollow 113f may be configured to minimize heat generated by the heater 121 to be delivered to the surrounding area through the gas guide 113, so as to prevent deterioration of the remote chamber 100 itself and the apparatuses mounted or coupled to the remote chamber 100.
In the second space 120a, the heater 121 configured to heat the sample may be provided, wherein the lower end of the heater 121 may be fixed to the bottom surface of the lower chamber 120, whereas the side surface of the heater 121 may be spaced apart from the inner surface of the lower chamber 120. The heater 121 may be configured to heat the sample to a temperature of 20° C. to 1000° C. As another example, the heater 121 may be configured to heat the sample to a temperature of 20° C. to 750° C.
As shown in
The heating member 121a may be a ceramic heater, a peltier heater, or the like.
The sample mounting disk 121b is formed with a groove on the upper surface to stably mount the sample in the powder state.
The heater 121 may further include a ring-shaped guide ring 121c which is coupled to the circumference of the sample mounting disk 121b, and the length of the guide ring 121c in the vertical direction may be longer than that in the vertical direction of the sample mounting disk 121b. The guide ring 121c may be configured to allow the sample mounting disk 121b to be stably fixed at the upper end of the heating member 121a.
The sample mounting disk 121b and the guide ring 121c may be formed of gold coated copper or stainless steel. That is, the sample mounting disk 121b and the guide ring 121c may be formed of a material having excellent thermal conductivity.
On the bottom surface of the lower chamber 120, a cooling flow path 122 configured to cool the second space 120a may be formed.
A feedthrough 123 may be provided on the side wall of the lower chamber 120 to supply electricity to the sample through an external charge-discharge device. The feedthrough 123 may be provided in a pair, that is, two, each of which may be located on each different side wall of the lower chamber 120.
Formed on another side wall of the lower chamber 120 may be a heater terminal 124 which is configured to electrically connect a temperature controller located outside the heater 121 and the remote chamber 100.
For example, the lower chamber 120 may be provided in a cuboidal shape that is opened to the upper surface. Here, two feedthroughs 123 may be located on each of the pair of side walls facing each other, and the heater terminal 124 may be located on one of the remaining side walls.
As shown in
As shown in
Specifically, the horizontal moving stage 130 may include a fixture 134 fixed onto the ground surface, a moving plate 131 coupled to the upper end of the fixture 134 and configured to be movable relative to the fixture 134 in a horizontal direction, and a first horizontality adjustment member 132 and a second horizontality adjustment member 133 configured to adjust horizontal movement of the moving plate 131.
Although the example embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described above, these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent ranges of the example embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the scope for true technical protection of the present disclosure should be defined by the appended claims.
A remote chamber and a DART-MS system using the same of the present disclosure may enhance the degree of spatial freedom between a direct analysis in real time (DART) instrument and a mass spectrometry (MS) instrument and give additional conditions to the sample.
A remote chamber and a DART-MS system using the same of the present disclosure have a remote chamber capable of light irradiation, temperature and vacuum control, electricity supply, and gas flow, thereby enabling in-situ mass spectrometry.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2021-0178827 | Dec 2021 | KR | national |
10-2022-0118993 | Sep 2022 | KR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/KR2022/014146 | 9/22/2022 | WO |