A hybrid mass spectrometer is a device for

tandem mass spectrometry Tandem mass spectrometry, also known as MS/MS or MS2, is a technique in instrumental analysis where two or more mass analyzers are coupled together using an additional reaction step to increase their abilities to analyse chemical samples. A comm ...

that consists of a combination of two or more '' m/z'' separation devices of different types.

Notation

The different ''m/z'' separation elements of a hybrid

mass spectrometer Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

can be represented by a shorthand notation. The symbol ''Q'' represents a

quadrupole mass analyzer The quadrupole mass analyzer, originally conceived by Nobel Laureate Wolfgang Paul and his student Helmut Steinwedel, also known as quadrupole mass filter, is one type of mass analyzer used in mass spectrometry. As the name implies, it consists of ...

, ''q'' is a

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upp ...

collision quadrupole, ''TOF'' is a

time-of-flight mass spectrometer Time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) is a method of mass spectrometry in which an ion's mass-to-charge ratio is determined by a time of flight measurement. Ions are accelerated by an electric field of known strength. This acceleration resul ...

, ''B'' is a magnetic

sector Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a po ...

and ''E'' is an electric sector.

Sector quadrupole

sector instrument A sector instrument is a general term for a class of mass spectrometer that uses a static electric (E) or magnetic (B) sector or some combination of the two (separately in space) as a mass analyzer. Popular combinations of these sectors have been ...

can be combined with a collision quadrupole and

to form a hybrid instrument. A BEqQ configuration with a magnetic sector (B), electric sector (E), collision quadrupole (q) and ''m/z'' selection quadrupole (Q) have been constructed and an instrument with two electric sectors (BEEQ) has been described.

Quadrupole time-of-flight

triple quadrupole mass spectrometer A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (TQMS), is a tandem mass spectrometer consisting of two quadrupole mass analyzers in series, with a (non-mass-resolving) radio frequency (RF)–only quadrupole between them to act as a cell for collision-indu ...

with the final quadrupole replaced by a time-of-flight device is known as a quadrupole time-of-flight instrument. Such an instrument can be represented as QqTOF.

Ion trap time-of-flight

In an ion trap instrument, ions are trapped in a

quadrupole ion trap A quadrupole ion trap or paul trap is a type of ion trap that uses dynamic electric fields to trap charged particles. They are also called radio frequency (RF) traps or Paul traps in honor of Wolfgang Paul, who invented the device and shared the N ...

and then injected into the TOF. The trap can be 3-D or a linear trap.

Linear ion trap and Fourier transform mass analyzers

A linear ion trap combined with a

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry is a type of mass analyzer (or mass spectrometer) for determining the mass-to-charge ratio (''m''/''z'') of ions based on the cyclotron frequency of the ions in a fixed magnetic field. Th ...

Orbitrap In mass spectrometry, Orbitrap is an ion trap mass analyzer consisting of an outer barrel-like electrode and a coaxial inner spindle-like electrode that traps ions in an orbital motion around the spindle. The image current from the trapped ions is ...

mass spectrometer is marketed by

Thermo Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American supplier of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, and software services. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Fisher was formed through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher S ...

as the LTQ FT and LTQ Orbitrap, respectively.

References

{{Mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry Tandem mass spectrometry