Integration of a Multichannel Pulsed-Valve Inlet System to a Linear Quadrupole Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer for the Rapid Consecutive Introduction of Nine Reagents for Diagnostic Ion/Molecule Reactions.

Gas-phase ion/molecule reactions have been used extensively for the structural elucidation of organic compounds in tandem mass spectrometry. Reagents for ion/molecule reactions can be introduced into a mass spectrometer via a continuous flow apparatus or through a pulsed inlet system. However, most of these approaches enable the use of only a single reagent at a time. In this work, a multichannel pulsed-valve inlet system was developed for the rapid consecutive introduction of up to nine different reagents or reagent systems into a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer for diagnostic gas-phase ion/molecule reactions. Automated triggering of the pulsed valves enabled these experiments to be performed on the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) time scale. This enables high-throughput screening of several functionalities in analytes as they elute from an HPLC column.