Patent ID: 6806465
Filing Date: 2004-10-19
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
A field portable mass spectrometer system comprising:a) an aerosol interface comprising: an inlet having a vacuum therein, the inlet collecting an environmental specimen containing one or more analytes; and a nebulizer for injecting metered amounts of MALDI matrix particles into the environmental specimen prior to the inlet collecting the environmental specimen; b) a sample transporter, the sample transporter interfacing with a sample collector to receive sample deposits thereon; c) a time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometer, the time of flight mass spectrometer having a sealable opening that receives the sample transported via the sample transporter in an extraction region of the mass spectrometer; and d) a control unit that processes a time series output by the mass spectrometer for a received sample and identifies one or more agents contained in the sample.