Advantages
- Preserves fragile compounds and produces exceptionally clear, easily interpreted spectra every time
- Detects trace compounds with greater sensitivity and lower detection limits overall
- Works with tiny sample volumes across a wide range of molecule types
- Integrates easily into existing instruments and allows each step to be optimized
Summary
Mass spectrometry demands gentle ionization methods that convert molecules into gas phase ions without destroying them. Yet researchers lack techniques able to process tiny sample volumes while preserving low abundance, thermally fragile, or structurally sensitive compounds. Existing approaches struggle to maintain spectral clarity and often generate confusing adducts, leaving a critical gap in forensic, clinical, and analytical chemistry workflows.
This technology combines acoustic wave nebulization with a symmetric cold plasma ionization step, separating the two processes so each can be optimized independently. By avoiding heat and high voltage during nebulization, it gently generates aerosols from tiny droplets, then ionizes them uniformly for exceptional transfer efficiency. This approach overcomes the fragmentation and degradation issues common to conventional methods, delivering four times lower detection limits than existing acoustic techniques and producing minimal adducts, resulting in exceptionally clear spectra for both fragile and robust analytes.
Figure 1: A.) SAW chip structure using LiNb03 substrate, showing IDT finger pairs, reflector electrodes, and the standing surface acoustic wave (SSA W)/sample deposition region. B.) Schematic representation of the SAW operation electronic setup.
Desired Partnerships
- License
- Sponsored Research
- Co-Development