Triwave Design

Triwave technology which enables ion mobility separations in the SYNAPT G2-S family of MS systems, comprises three travelling wave devices which are used to manipulate (trap, accumulate, release, separate and fragment) ions in a very precise, rapid and efficient manner.

The separation of molecules by ion mobility in the IMS T-Wave significantly extends the power of high resolution MS/MS analysis, increasing the extent and confidence with which a scientist can profile complex mixtures and complex molecules.

T-Wave IMS benefits - separation and peak capacity

There are a number of benefits to using T-Wave ion mobility that have been reported in over 200 peer reviewed papers.

• Orthogonal separation power - IMS resolution sufficient to separate; ions not amenable to m/z separation, isomers, conformers , ions of different molecular class or charge-state
• Increased peak capacity - providing significant gains in selectivity (analytical peak capacity) and specificity (confidence in results), when compared to the use of m/z separation alone

T-Wave IMS benefits - confirmation and structural characterization

Confirmation - T-Wave IMS provides a unique method to enhance the characterization of molecular structure through the determination of collision cross section values (CCS). The conformational measurements generated for peptides and small molecules have been shown to complement traditional structural analysis techniques.

Structural characterization - Triwave provides a range of options to increase information from fragmentation experiments by combining IMS with CID (one or two stages) or ETD. This provides more comprehensive characterization of modified peptides, lipids, small molecules, carbohydrates and polymers.

Principles of T-Wave IMS separation

T-Wave IMS utilizes non-uniform, moving electric fields / voltage pulses to push ions through a neutral buffer gas. As ions are driven, they interact/collide with the neutral buffer gas which slows them down, causing ions of different size, shape, charge and mass to transit at different rates.

Species with high mobility (more compact) surf more on the wave front and are overtaken by the wave less often than those species of low mobility (more extended), hence mobility-based separation occurs.

T-Wave IMS in practice

Ions arriving in the Triwave device are accumulated in the TRAP T-Wave and then released into the IMS T-Wave where mobility dependent separation occurs. The IM separated packets of ions are transferred to the oa-Tof analyzer by the TRANSFER T-Wave.

The process is continually repeated in the tens of milliseconds time-frame with very high duty cycle, which means that benefits of IMS can be realized together with UPLC separations and Tof mass analysis without compromising the sensitivity or speed of analysis.