Quantitative comparison of a flared and a standard heated metal capillary inlet with a voltage-assisted air amplifier on an electrospray ionization linear ion trap mass spectrometer

The performance characteristics (i.e., ion abundance and electrospray ion current) of a flared and blunt-ended heated metal capillary were evaluated with a voltage-assisted air amplifier on a linear ion trap mass spectrometer (LTQ-MS). The results demonstrated that a standard capillary afforded higher ion abundance than a flared capillary, thus further work is necessary to investigate conditions for which significant benefits with the flared capillary will be observed. The compatibility of a voltage-assisted air amplifier is explored for both types of capillaries and in all cases resulted in improved ion abundance and spray current.