SBIR Phase I: Robust High-Throughput Mass Spectrometry Through Vacuum Matrix Assisted Ionization

小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种新发现的用于质谱的自发电离过程，该过程与一种新型样品导入装置相结合。这项技术有潜力推动质谱进入新的应用领域，目前这个主要的分析工具还没有得到充分的服务。由此产生的方法能够在3秒内直接从生物基质中分析生物和环境样品，而不会污染仪器。该方法降低了成本，能源使用和所需的用户专业知识，同时提供高灵敏度和分析速度，具有前所未有的鲁棒性。这些属性满足了在医疗诊断、生物威胁检测和环境损害控制等方面对准确和及时信息的需求。这有可能通过改进测量技术来推动科学发展，并通过灵敏、快速和可靠的药物检测来改善医疗保健、环境修复和安全性，从而带来社会效益。围绕该技术构建的新仪器具有巨大的商业潜力，因为它解决了目前的缺点，如高成本、对操作人员专业知识的要求、对污染缺乏鲁棒性以及对高通量自动化分析的需求，这些特性目前限制了质谱法在重要应用中的吸引力。SBIR一期项目提出通过实施2012年由nsf资助的研究首次发现的新型电离技术来推进质谱分析。本方案的电离过程不考虑挥发性，只要将样品与某些小分子化合物结合，暴露在亚大气压下，就可以将大小化合物转化为气相离子，而不需要激光、高压或加热。一个关键的特点是快速暴露连续的样品直接从大气压力真空提供简单的操作，分析速度，降低操作成本，并消除污染的风险。该仪器和相关方法广泛适用于多种化合物的快速分析，包括药物及其代谢物、生物液体和组织，不需要纯化，也没有仪器污染。其他目标包括为这种新的电离技术设计和建立一种新的样品导入方法，以及一种相关的离子转移透镜，以适应特定的商业质谱仪器，以及为重要应用（如快速细菌鉴定）进行概念验证的演示。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development of a newly discovered spontaneous ionization process for use with mass spectrometry that is combined with a novel sample introduction device. This technology has the potential to drive mass spectrometry into new application areas that are currently underserved by this premier analytical tool. The resulting method is capable of analyzing biological and environmental samples in 3 sec/sample directly from the biological matrix without instrument contamination. The method reduces cost, energy use, and required user expertise, while providing high sensitivity and speed of analysis with unprecedented robustness. These attributes address the need for accurate and timely information in medical diagnostics, biothreat detection, and environmental damage control among others. This has the potential to advance science through improved measurement technology with societal benefits of improved healthcare, environmental remediation, and safety through sensitive, rapid, and reliable detection of drugs to proteins. New instrumentation built around this technology has significant commercial potential because it addresses current shortcomings such as high cost, requirement for operator expertise, lack of robustness to contamination, and need for high-throughput automatable analyses, attributes that currently limit the appeal of mass spectrometry in important applications. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to advance mass spectrometry by implementing novel ionization technology first discovered in 2012 through NSF-funded research. The ionization process of this proposal converts large and small compounds regardless of volatility to gas-phase ions simply by exposure to sub-atmospheric pressure through association of the sample with certain small molecule compounds without the need for a laser, high voltage, or the application of heat. A key feature is rapidly exposing successive samples to vacuum directly from atmospheric pressure providing simplicity of operation, speed of analysis, reduced operating cost, and elimination of risk of contamination. The instrument and associated method are broadly applicable for fast analyses of a wide array of compounds, including drugs and their metabolites, and biological fluids and tissues without the need for purification and without instrument contamination. Additional objectives include designing and building a novel sample introduction method for this new ionization technology and an associated ion transfer lens to fit specific commercial mass spectrometry instruments as well as demonstration of proof-of-concept for important applications such as rapid bacteria identification.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.