A novel nanopore ion source developed at Brown University may potentially revolutionize mass spectrometry and expand applications in proteomic research. A technological breakthrough that can lower sample loss by several orders of magnitude, enabling even the smallest of the scarce fuel to be analyzed accurately and sensitively.
Getting over the Sample Hurdle Loss
Mass spectrometry, on the other hand, has been used by scientists to dissolve-down and identify the individual components of just about anything for quite some time. The method, though, has had one significant drawback: almost 99% of the stuff that needs to be analyzed is lost before we even start. Currently, samples are lost at an astonishing rate of 70%, limiting the effectiveness of NGS, compromising accuracy, depleting resources and complicating workflows.
But now, a research team from Brown University has come up with an ingenious fix. A new process allows ions — the particles that mass spectrometers examine — to quickly surround a droplet while losing almost none of the sample. This new development — a nanopore ion source — could reshape the entire mass spectrometry landscape and enable other avenues in proteomics research.
The Little Blood Vessel that Could Save Your Life
A small capillary that opens to a width of 30 nanometers — about one thousandth the width of a human hair, designed by the Brown team — is at the heart of this innovation. This nano-tube is significantly smaller than the openings in conventional needles used for electrospray ionization, which are on average 600 times bigger.
This tiny nanopore ion source offers more than just its small size, though. In contrast to the typical method that squirts the sample out into the air where it turns into floating droplets of charge, and then left to desiccation, which JM separated entirely from his process. Instead, the ions are pumped directly into a mass spectrometer vacuum without requiring significant stages of pumping and drying.
This leaner strategy not only reduces the waste of samples enormously, but also simplifies the convoluted hardware of mass spectrometers, which could help bring the technology out to a larger group of researchers. This team’s dogged, creative work has finally paid off, and they are poised to realize the full potential of their nanopore ion source.
Conclusion
Development of the nanopore ion source by Brown University scientists could lead to a new direction for mass spectrometry and an expansion of proteomic research landscape. This breakthrough could enable more precise, sensitive and rapid protein studies by dramatically slashing sample loss and streamlining the analysis process, an aim long pursued by scientists. Through further work to improve and scale the nanopore ion source,we will likely see more advances in learning about life’s chemicals built from simpler components as discussed by Bloch.
