Modular system for the direct detection of biomolecules by low-temperature plasma ionization coupled to a mass spectrometry analyzer

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Global modernization recently led to the announcement of a fourth industrial revolution resulting in the so-called Industry 4.0. In this development the consumption of energy and resources is minimized resulting in less waste production and eventually in lower production cost. The necessary online monitoring of the product happens via process analysis. While many concepts exist to implement this approach into the high-technology manufacturing processes little to no attention is given on the low-technology sector.While these industries not only build the foundation of many national economies but also supply internationally needed materials (e.g. in agriculture and food processing) they are especially difficult to target with process analysis because of the low financial turnover of the individual product. Up to now most process analysis tools are highly specialized and rely on spezialized personnel. There is a strong demand for widely applicable analytical technologies. The currently most generally applicable analytical tool is mass spectrometry (MS). However, MS instruments are typically highly delicate, heavy and expensive. This proposal suggests a flexible approach to bridge this gap by a modularly composed instrument. In principle there is no upper limit to the number of modules an individual future device can consist of, in the petitioned project we will exemplary design and evaluate i) a laser ablation unit, ii) an ambient ionization unit, iii) an ion mobility separator (IMS) and iv) a mass analyser (MS).The modular approach exhibits several advantages: i) The instruments is Fit for purpose, i.e. the level of sophistication and, thus, the cost can be chosen depending on the sophistication of the problem setting. ii) Subsequent filtering by orthogonal criteria (such as IMS and MS) results in lower demands of the individual filters. Hence, two consecutive low cost analyzers can result in fine resolving capabilities. iii) The individual modular components can be relatively simple. In this way, they can use mass produced parts originally built for other applications (with superior cost efficiency). Since the main actors of the project are non-commercial public institutes, contrary to the multinational companies controlling the market of mass spectrometry equipment currently, we will contribute an instrument design, which reproducible and makes our device accessible as an enabling technology to research groups and end users with low budget. This concept of commons-based peer production - already successful e.g. in knowledge creation (wiki) - is expected to transform the economy by distributed production tools, such as 3D printers. Throughout the requested project period the performance of the developed prototype will be thoroughly tested regarding capability of determining the plant volatiles and agronomically relevant compounds, pharmaceutical products, as well as hydrocarbons from algae, which are an important future basis of biofuels.