A High-Resolution Differential Mobility Analyzer to Study Biomolecules

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a powerful analytical method having applications in the investigation of three dimensional structures and the structural changes that occur during chemical processes in compounds including clusters, synthetic polymers and biomolecules such as proteins and peptides. It is also used for the detection of airborne chemical agents such as explosives, chemical warfare agents, narcotics and toxic industrial chemicals and for the study of aerosol particles. This project is aimed to address the need to improve the performance of the IMS as related to these applications. Differential IMS is a method having a high duty cycle and sensitivity with respect to the more common drift-tube based IMS. A novel differential ion mobility spectrometer with a resolution higher than the existing differential ion mobility designs is proposed. The proposed spectrometer will have a multi-slit-multi-channel design to improve the resolution of the technique by allowing for an efficient laminar flow of the buffer gas. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a method to separate and study three-dimensional structures of gaseous ions produced by various analytes including biological compounds such as proteins and peptides and to study the changes in their structures as related to chemical processes. It is also used for the detection of airborne chemical agents such as explosives, chemical warfare agents, narcotics and toxic industrial chemicals. Our proposed design is a novel development in the IMS aimed at the need to increase the performance of the method so that its various applications may benefit. The novel design will simultaneously improve the sensitivity and resolution of the IMS.