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Two capillary approach for a multifunctional nanoflow sheath liquid interface for capillary electrophoresis‐mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Höcker Oliver,
Knierman Mike,
Meixner Jens,
Neusüß Christian
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.202000169
Subject(s) - electrospray , common emitter , capillary action , mass spectrometry , chromatography , capillary electrophoresis , capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , analyte , chemistry , matrix (chemical analysis) , electrospray ionization , optoelectronics , composite material
Abstract CE hyphenated to ESI‐MS (CE‐ESI‐MS) is a well‐established technique to analyze charged analytes in complex samples. Although various interfaces for CE‐MS coupling are commercially available, the development of alternatives which combine sensitivity, simplicity, and robustness remains a topic of research. In this work, a nanoflow sheath liquid CE‐MS interface with two movable capillaries inside a glass emitter is described. The setup enables a separation mode and a conditioning mode to guide the separation capillary effluent either into the electrospray or to the waste, respectively. This enables to exclude parts of the analysis from MS detection and unwanted matrix components reaching the mass spectrometer, comparable to divert valves in LC‐MS coupling. Also, this function improves the overall robustness of the system by reduction of particles blocking the emitter. Preconditioning with electrospray interfering substances and even the application of coating materials for every analysis is enabled, even while the separation capillary is built into the interface with running electrospray. The functionality is demonstrated by analyses of heavy matrix bioreactor samples. Overall, this innovation offers a more convenient installation of the interface, improved handling with an extended lifetime of the emitter tips and additional functions compared to previous approaches, while keeping the higher sensitivity of nanoflow CE‐MS‐coupling.