Direct Sampling Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry - A Growing Toolkit for Air Quality Monitoring Applications

The recent development of a collection of techniques referred to as direct sampling ion trap mass spectrometry (DSITMS) shows great promise for real-time, high-throughput, low-cost screening of environmental pollutants in air. One of its great strengths is the flexibility it allows the user in choosing among different sample introduction systems, ionization modes, and scan modes. This paper delineates the various stages involved in a DSITMS analysis, describes the options and great flexibility inherent in each of these stages, and demonstrates the use of DSITMS techniques for monitoring trace levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Mir space station air samples.