An ion trap is a key component of a mass spectrometer, used to store and manipulate ionized atoms or molecules so they can be analyzed and separated based on their mass-to-charge ratios.
- Applies electric or magnetic fields to trap positively or negatively charged ions in vacant space or oscillate within the fields.
- Common types are 3D quadrupole ion traps, linear ion traps, Orbitrons and Kingdon traps.
- Allows the isolation of certain mass-to-charge ratio ions and interaction with other molecules for further analysis.
- Can be used to store ions for extended periods to study chemical reactions or accumulate ions over time.
- Ions can be selectively ejected from the traps by changing the electric fields based on stability parameters.
- Detection is done downstream of the trap after ejection to determine composition from mass-to-charge ratios.
In summary, ion traps give excellent control for manipulation and analysis of ionized compounds in mass spectrometry for identification and separation.
HCT Ultra High-Capacity Trap mass spectrometer
In 2005, the HCT Ultra High-Capacity Trap mass spectrometer system from Bruker Daltonics features increased acquisition speed, sensitivity, and software for intelligent data-dependent scans.
The system provides outstanding ion trap performance in terms of sensitivity, speed, and mass accuracy resulting in superb proteomics and metabolomics data quality, as well as further enhanced information gain per unit time for LC-MS/MS applications in pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic research. Its high ion capacity and dynamic range make it suitable for quantitative proteomics, as well as for quantitative small molecule applications.
Its full-scan MS sensitivity benefits data-dependent experiments, enabling intelligent real-time decisions even on low abundance precursor ions prior to ultra sensitive fragment analysis. With the HCT Ultra, the quality and information content of MS/MS is improved by smart precursor ion selection strategies. For example, for the analysis of post-translational modifications, the new Phospho Scan can detect phosphopeptides on-the-fly in a single Auto-LC-MS/MS/MS run, whereas the unique Peptide Scan in the same experiment allows the selection of multiply charged pre-cursor ions for information rich MS/MS without time-consuming charge state determination pre-cursor scans.
The bioinformatics suite Protein Scape can now handle even millions of high-quality MS/MS spectra created by the HCT Ultra in large-scale proteome studies. The HCT Ultra integrates into the Proteineer solution for LC and 2D gel-MS/MS based proteomics projects, as well as into the Metabolic Profiler solution for metabolic studies.
Bruker develops innovative life science tools based on mass spectrometry.