Acoustic Ejection Mass Spectrometry for High-Throughput Analysis

Abstract

We describe a mass spectrometry (MS) analytical platform resulting from the novel integration of acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) technology, an open-port interface (OPI), and electrospray ionization (ESI) MS that creates a transformative system enabling high-speed sampling and label-free analysis. The ADE technology delivers nanoliter droplets in a touchless manner with high speed, precision and accuracy; subsequent sample dilution within the OPI, in concert with the capabilities of modern ESI-MS, eliminates the laborious sample preparation and method development required in current approaches. This platform is applied to a variety of experiments, including high-throughput (HT) pharmacology screening, label-free in situ enzyme kinetics, in vitro and in vivo adsorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, pharmacokinetic (PK) and biomarker analysis, and HT parallel medicinal chemistry. One Sentence SummaryADE-OPI-MS is a transformational analytical platform that increases mass spectrometry utility via sub-second speed and non-contact sampling.