Determination of Organic Compounds in Solid and Gas Phases Using Miniaturized Axially Symmetric Time-of-Flight Mass Reflectrons

Original axially symmetric time-of-flight mass reflectrons for studying organic compounds in solid and gas phases were described. In the solid phase, organic molecules were ionized by an ultraviolet laser beam generated in accordance with the matrix-assistant laser desorption and ionization (MALDI) procedure. Gas-phase molecules were ionized by an electron impact. Mass spectra of organic compounds recorded in laboratory are presented. It was shown that the instruments proposed combine small dimensions with high analytical performance. Various modifications of these instruments developed at the Institute of Cosmic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, can find wide application for solving some analytical problems on the Earth and in outer space.