A fundamental introduction to ion mobility mass spectrometry applied to the analysis of biomolecules.

Chemists are constantly striving for techniques that add dimensions of orthogonality with increased throughput and sample complexity. Ion mobility spectrometry (IM) is a gas-phase separation method that adds new dimensions to mass spectrometry (MS). IM separates gas-phase ions based on their collision cross-section and can be coupled with time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry to yield a powerful tool used in the identification and characterization of proteins and peptides. A fundamental introduction to IM is presented with a focus on resolution, sensitivity, and orthogonality coupled with TOF-MS.