Direct measurements of nanoparticles and virus by virus mass spectrometry

1. An apparatus for mass spectrometry comprising:

a desorption plate;

a laser for firing a beam to impinge upon the desorption plate;

a mass analyzer for measuring mass over the range of m/z from 10 5 to 10 10 using applied trapping RF and axial RF voltages, wherein the mass analyzer is a quadrupole ion trap having a ring electrode and first and second end cap electrodes, wherein the ring electrode is spaced apart by a gap from the first end cap electrode, and wherein the desorption plate is adjacent to the gap;

an electrical shield surrounding the mass analyzer;

a charge sensitive detector, wherein the electrical shield electrically isolates the mass analyzer from the charge sensitive detector; and

a synchronizer for phase locking the laser firing to the applied trapping RF.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a trapping RF is applied to the ring electrode, and an axial RF is applied to the end cap electrodes, and wherein the phase of the trapping RF is synchronized to the phase of the axial RF.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the resolution of a mass spectrum of nanoparticles obtained with the apparatus is at least 50.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the laser fires when the applied radiofrequency voltage amplitude is less than one volt.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the laser fires when the applied radiofrequency voltage amplitude is zero.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the desorption plate is a laser induced acoustic desorption plate.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mass analyzer is a quadrupole ion trap.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the applied radiofrequency voltages are applied at a trap driving frequency in the range 200-2000 Hz.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the applied radiofrequency voltages are in the range zero to 3000 Vp-p.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electrical shield is stainless steel.

11. A method for performing mass spectrometry of a nanoparticle analyte ion, the method comprising:

desorbing the nanoparticle analyte ion from an acoustic desorption plate by firing a laser to impinge upon the desorption plate;

trapping the nanoparticle analyte ion in a mass analyzer configured to measure mass over the range of m/z from 10 5 to 10 10 using applied trapping RF and axial RF voltages, wherein the mass analyzer is a quadrupole ion trap having a ring electrode and first and second end cap electrodes, wherein the ring electrode is spaced apart by a gap from the first end cap electrode, and wherein the desorption plate is adjacent to the gap; and

detecting the charge of the nanoparticle analyte, wherein an electrical shield electrically isolates the mass analyzer from the detector, thereby obtaining a mass spectrum of the analyte;

and wherein the laser firing is phase lock synchronized to the applied trapping RF.

12. The method of claim 11 , the method further comprising

applying a trapping RF to the ring electrode and an axial RF to the end cap electrodes; and

synchronizing the phase of the trapping RF to the phase of the axial RF.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising adjusting the phase of the RF at which the laser is fired, thereby increasing the signal to noise.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the laser fires when the applied radiofrequency voltage amplitude is less than one volt.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the laser fires when the applied radiofrequency voltage amplitude is zero.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the signal to noise of the mass spectrum is increased at least two-fold compared to a device that does not have phase synchronized laser firing.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nanoparticles are viruses.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nanoparticles are single whole viruses.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nanoparticles are virions.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nanoparticles are nanorods, quantum dots, liposomes, or multiple layers of nanoparticles.

21. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nanoparticles are human immunodeficiency virus, flu virus, or SARS virus.

22. The method of claim 11 , wherein the mass distribution of the nanoparticles is determined.

23. The method of claim 11 , further comprising matching the peaks in the mass spectrum of the nanoparticles with different charges and/or clusters with different numbers of charge.

24. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining the kinds of viruses present in a sample based on mass measurements.

25. A non-transient computer readable storage medium containing instructions for carrying out a method for performing mass spectrometry of a nanoparticle analyte ion, the method comprising:

desorbing the nanoparticle analyte ion from an acoustic desorption plate by firing a laser to impinge upon the desorption plate;

trapping the nanoparticle analyte ion in a mass analyzer configured to measure mass over the range of m/z from 10 5 to 10 10 using applied radiofrequency voltages, wherein the mass analyzer is a quadrupole ion trap having a ring electrode and first and second end cap electrodes, wherein the ring electrode is spaced apart by a gap from the first end cap electrode, and wherein the desorption plate is adjacent to the gap; and

detecting the charge of the nanoparticle analyte, wherein an electrical shield electrically isolates the mass analyzer from the detector;

and wherein the laser firing is phase lock synchronized to the applied radiofrequency voltages.

26. The non-transient computer readable storage medium of claim 25 , the method further comprising

applying a trapping RF to the ring electrode and an axial RF to the end cap electrodes; and

synchronizing the phase of the trapping RF to the phase of the axial RF.