Desorption Flame-Induced Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Real-World Sample Analysis.

Flame-induced atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (FAPCI) is a solvent and high voltage-free APCI technique. It uses a flame to produce charged species that reacts with analytes for ionization, and generates intact molecular ions from organic compounds with minimal fragmentation. In this study, desorption FAPCI/MS was developed to rapidly characterize thermally stable organic compounds in liquid, cream, and solid states. Liquid samples were introduced into the ion source through a heated nebulizer, and the analytes formed in the heated nebulizer reacted with charged species in the source. For cream and solid sample analysis, the samples were positioned near the flame of the FAPCI source for thermal desorption and ionization. This approach provided a useful method to directly characterize samples with minimal pretreatment. Standards and real-world samples, such as drug tablets, ointment, and toy were analyzed to demonstrate the capability of desorption FAPCI/MS for rapid organic compound analysis.