Development of electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization sources for the analysis of thermally desorbed human breath samples

摘要

Breath samples can be analyzed successfully using TD-ESI-MS. Samples can be processed in approximately 20 minutes producing complex mass spectra rich in information with accurate mass assignments. The modified TD-ESI ion source with the tube interface significantly enhances the response from TD-ESI-MS, this will be extended to TD-APCI-MS. The next stage will be to apply the modified ion sources to a breath study to see if it can differentiate between healthy and disease states.