Use of high resolution mass spectrometry has grown significantly in the recent years with availability of new instrumentation being a significant contributor to that growth. Recognition of the value of selectivity, high mass accuracy and accurate isotope abundance provided by high resolution mass spectrometers, makes them instruments of choice for wide variety of applications for compound detection and identification, especially in complex mixtures. Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry [1] plays a prominent role among the other high resolving power mass analyzing techniques due to its ability to provide high mass spectra generation rate and independence of resolving power from data acquisition speed and mass of ions. Because of these important traits the TOF-based mass analyzers were most successfully implemented when coupled with fast sample introduction (e.g. UHPLC, GCxGC), pulsed ionization (e.g. MALDI) and the high speed hyphenating (e.g. IMS, Q-) techniques which require fast generation of mass spectra to match temporal demands of the corresponding methods. This presentation will describe the concepts of the major technological milestones which have transformed the Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry from the experimental tool barely resolving isotopes of atoms and small molecules in the past to today’s high resolution analytical systems widely used in routine applications and in advanced research [2]. The recent developments, such as novel TOF mass analyzers, ion detectors, data acquisition methods and the others [3], which have already made their way into the modern high resolution commercial instruments, will be discussed. The new ion-optical ideas and related concepts, as well as current and future application demands, pave the road for the TOFMS technology progress and it will be also discussed in this presentation.

Use of high resolution mass spectrometry has grown significantly in the recent years with availability of new instrumentation being a significant contributor to that growth. Recognition of the value of selectivity, high mass accuracy and accurate isotope abundance provided by high resolution mass spectrometers, makes them instruments of choice for wide variety of applications for compound detection and identification, especially in complex mixtures. Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry [1] plays a prominent role among the other high resolving power mass analyzing techniques due to its ability to provide high mass spectra generation rate and independence of resolving power from data acquisition speed and mass of ions. Because of these important traits the TOF-based mass analyzers were most successfully implemented when coupled with fast sample introduction (e.g. UHPLC, GCxGC), pulsed ionization (e.g. MALDI) and the high speed hyphenating (e.g. IMS, Q-) techniques which require fast generation of mass spectra to match temporal demands of the corresponding methods. This presentation will describe the concepts of the major technological milestones which have transformed the Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry from the experimental tool barely resolving isotopes of atoms and small molecules in the past to today’s high resolution analytical systems widely used in routine applications and in advanced research [2]. The recent developments, such as novel TOF mass analyzers, ion detectors, data acquisition methods and the others [3], which have already made their way into the modern high resolution commercial instruments, will be discussed. The new ion-optical ideas and related concepts, as well as current and future application demands, pave the road for the TOFMS technology progress and it will be also discussed in this presentation.

Use of high resolution mass spectrometry has grown significantly in the recent years with availability of new instrumentation being a significant contributor to that growth. Recognition of the value of selectivity, high mass accuracy and accurate isotope abundance provided by high resolution mass spectrometers, makes them instruments of choice for wide variety of applications for compound detection and identification, especially in complex mixtures. Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry [1] plays a prominent role among the other high resolving power mass analyzing techniques due to its ability to provide high mass spectra generation rate and independence of resolving power from data acquisition speed and mass of ions. Because of these important traits the TOF-based mass analyzers were most successfully implemented when coupled with fast sample introduction (e.g. UHPLC, GCxGC), pulsed ionization (e.g. MALDI) and the high speed hyphenating (e.g. IMS, Q-) techniques which require fast generation of mass spectra to match temporal demands of the corresponding methods. This presentation will describe the concepts of the major technological milestones which have transformed the Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry from the experimental tool barely resolving isotopes of atoms and small molecules in the past to today’s high resolution analytical systems widely used in routine applications and in advanced research [2]. The recent developments, such as novel TOF mass analyzers, ion detectors, data acquisition methods and the others [3], which have already made their way into the modern high resolution commercial instruments, will be discussed. The new ion-optical ideas and related concepts, as well as current and future application demands, pave the road for the TOFMS technology progress and it will be also discussed in this presentation.

High-resolution mass spectrometry allows the determination of the elemental composition of ions. In most cases so called “soft” ionization techniques are applied to target the molecular ions or quasi-molecular ions of a molecule and structural information could be gained due to a subsequent fragmentation/dissociation processes of this parent ion. However, the applied “soft” ionization techniques are often not free from artefacts and could be highly discriminatory or prone for adduct reaction. Here, we will discuss the application of 70eV electron ionization as a robust and universal but also highly fragmenting ionization technique for high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HRTOFMS). In the first part we will introduce a combined HRTOFMS platform were sample matrices could be introduced to a gas phase ion source either directly via thermal introduction methods or after (gas-)chromatographic separation. Thermal introduction methods comprises thermos gravietry (TG) and direct insert probe (DIP) [1]. While available soft ionization techniques like chemical ionization and single photon ionization (as well as electron capture negative ionization), electron ionization will be discussed to integrate mass spectrometric data obtained from different inlet modes. The second part will focus on the application of the platform. Two types of matrices will be introduced to discuss the complementarity of the introduced platform. Fossil matrices with a very wide boiling point range from volatile towards vacuum residues are analysed with the different inlet techniques. The platform allows the analysis with similar ionization conditions to integrate date from these different inlet systems [2]. A second matrix will target the simulation of very complex atmospheric reactions. Individual anthropogenic as well an biogenic precursor will be aged with an so called flow tube to generate secondary organic aerosol. The composition of aerosols these aerosols is very complex and comprises very volatile as well as heavy oligomeric organic compounds.

High-resolution mass spectrometry allows the determination of the elemental composition of ions. In most cases so called “soft” ionization techniques are applied to target the molecular ions or quasi-molecular ions of a molecule and structural information could be gained due to a subsequent fragmentation/dissociation processes of this parent ion. However, the applied “soft” ionization techniques are often not free from artefacts and could be highly discriminatory or prone for adduct reaction. Here, we will discuss the application of 70eV electron ionization as a robust and universal but also highly fragmenting ionization technique for high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HRTOFMS). In the first part we will introduce a combined HRTOFMS platform were sample matrices could be introduced to a gas phase ion source either directly via thermal introduction methods or after (gas-)chromatographic separation. Thermal introduction methods comprises thermos gravietry (TG) and direct insert probe (DIP) [1]. While available soft ionization techniques like chemical ionization and single photon ionization (as well as electron capture negative ionization), electron ionization will be discussed to integrate mass spectrometric data obtained from different inlet modes. The second part will focus on the application of the platform. Two types of matrices will be introduced to discuss the complementarity of the introduced platform. Fossil matrices with a very wide boiling point range from volatile towards vacuum residues are analysed with the different inlet techniques. The platform allows the analysis with similar ionization conditions to integrate date from these different inlet systems [2]. A second matrix will target the simulation of very complex atmospheric reactions. Individual anthropogenic as well an biogenic precursor will be aged with an so called flow tube to generate secondary organic aerosol. The composition of aerosols these aerosols is very complex and comprises very volatile as well as heavy oligomeric organic compounds.

High-resolution mass spectrometry allows the determination of the elemental composition of ions. In most cases so called “soft” ionization techniques are applied to target the molecular ions or quasi-molecular ions of a molecule and structural information could be gained due to a subsequent fragmentation/dissociation processes of this parent ion. However, the applied “soft” ionization techniques are often not free from artefacts and could be highly discriminatory or prone for adduct reaction. Here, we will discuss the application of 70eV electron ionization as a robust and universal but also highly fragmenting ionization technique for high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HRTOFMS). In the first part we will introduce a combined HRTOFMS platform were sample matrices could be introduced to a gas phase ion source either directly via thermal introduction methods or after (gas-)chromatographic separation. Thermal introduction methods comprises thermos gravietry (TG) and direct insert probe (DIP) [1]. While available soft ionization techniques like chemical ionization and single photon ionization (as well as electron capture negative ionization), electron ionization will be discussed to integrate mass spectrometric data obtained from different inlet modes. The second part will focus on the application of the platform. Two types of matrices will be introduced to discuss the complementarity of the introduced platform. Fossil matrices with a very wide boiling point range from volatile towards vacuum residues are analysed with the different inlet techniques. The platform allows the analysis with similar ionization conditions to integrate date from these different inlet systems [2]. A second matrix will target the simulation of very complex atmospheric reactions. Individual anthropogenic as well an biogenic precursor will be aged with an so called flow tube to generate secondary organic aerosol. The composition of aerosols these aerosols is very complex and comprises very volatile as well as heavy oligomeric organic compounds.

Organic matter refers to carbon-based compounds found in natural, engineered, terrestrial and aquatic environments. They are highly complex organic molecules mixtures that are remains of organisms such as plants and animals and their waste products, but they can also be the result of human process. Organic matter components cover a broad range of polarity, chemical functions, mass range, and concern a wide chemical space. These substances can be found in various fields such as, heavy fuels and environment. The characterization of these highly complex mixtures, that may present more than 100000 unique molecular formulas, is often based on ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry, typically with high field Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometers. The major limit of direct mass spectrometry approaches is that no information is obtained on isomeric content. This can be afforded however by using another dimension of separation such as chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In this presentation we will show the interest of the combination of highresolution MS, MS/MS and IMS to obtain valuable structural information on petroleum [1, 2] and planetology [3, 4] related samples.

Organic matter refers to carbon-based compounds found in natural, engineered, terrestrial and aquatic environments. They are highly complex organic molecules mixtures that are remains of organisms such as plants and animals and their waste products, but they can also be the result of human process. Organic matter components cover a broad range of polarity, chemical functions, mass range, and concern a wide chemical space. These substances can be found in various fields such as, heavy fuels and environment. The characterization of these highly complex mixtures, that may present more than 100000 unique molecular formulas, is often based on ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry, typically with high field Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometers. The major limit of direct mass spectrometry approaches is that no information is obtained on isomeric content. This can be afforded however by using another dimension of separation such as chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In this presentation we will show the interest of the combination of highresolution MS, MS/MS and IMS to obtain valuable structural information on petroleum [1, 2] and planetology [3, 4] related samples.

Organic matter refers to carbon-based compounds found in natural, engineered, terrestrial and aquatic environments. They are highly complex organic molecules mixtures that are remains of organisms such as plants and animals and their waste products, but they can also be the result of human process. Organic matter components cover a broad range of polarity, chemical functions, mass range, and concern a wide chemical space. These substances can be found in various fields such as, heavy fuels and environment. The characterization of these highly complex mixtures, that may present more than 100000 unique molecular formulas, is often based on ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry, typically with high field Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometers. The major limit of direct mass spectrometry approaches is that no information is obtained on isomeric content. This can be afforded however by using another dimension of separation such as chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In this presentation we will show the interest of the combination of highresolution MS, MS/MS and IMS to obtain valuable structural information on petroleum [1, 2] and planetology [3, 4] related samples.