Hadamard Transform Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

This STTR program will develop a two-dimensional Hadamard transform method for combining time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) and ion mobility separation (IMS) analysis of trace species. Target applications include chemical and biological agentdetection as well as protein sequencing and identification. The work builds on previous research by the Clemmer group that shows the usefulness of IMS with TOFMS for protein analysis and on Southwest Sciences' expertise in the development of compact,automated instrumentation for trace chemical detection. We anticipate that the Hadamard transform approach will improve sensitivity by increasing sample throughput, yet requires only minimal modification to the existing hardware. In Phase I we will 1)modify the existing IMS-TOFMS for Hadamard transform modulation of the TOFMS section, 2) experimentally determine the limits to mass resolution, sensitivity, and throughput for the modified instrument, and 3) investigate customized modulation waveformsthat can provide selective ion bandpass and/or notch filtering. The Phase I research will provide the critical design information needed to develop a fully two-dimensional, Hadamard transform IMSTOFMS instrument in Phase II. Applications includeproteomics, and chemical and biological agent detection.