Electrospray ionization

Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a technique used in mass spectrometry to produce ions using an electrospray in which a high voltage is applied to a liquid to create an aerosol. It is especially useful in producing ions from macromolecules because it overcomes the propensity of these molecules to fragment when ionized. ESI is different from other atmospheric pressure ionization processes (e.g. MALDI) since it may produce multiple charged ions, effectively extending the mass range of the analyser to accommodate the kDa-MDa orders of magnitude observed in proteins and their associated polypeptide fragments.

Mass spectrometry using ESI is called electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) or, less commonly, electrospray mass spectrometry (ES-MS). ESI is a so-called 'soft ionization' technique, since there is very little fragmentation. This can be advantageous in the sense that the molecular ion (or more accurately a pseudo molecular ion) is always observed, however very little structural information can be gained from the simple mass spectrum obtained. This disadvantage can be overcome by coupling ESI with tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Another important advantage of ESI is that solution-phase information can be retained into the gas-phase.

The electrospray ionization technique was first reported by Masamichi Yamashita and John Fenn in 1984. The development of electrospray ionization for the analysis of biological macromolecules was rewarded with the attribution of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to John Bennett Fenn in 2002. One of the original instruments used by Dr. Fenn is on display at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 1882, Lord Rayleigh theoretically estimated the maximum amount of charge a liquid droplet could carry before throwing out fine jets of liquid. This is now known as the Rayleigh limit.

In 1914, John Zeleny published work on the behaviour of fluid droplets at the end of glass capillaries and presented evidence for different electrospray modes. Wilson and Taylor and Nolan investigated electrospray in the 1920s and Macky in 1931. The electrospray cone (now known as the Taylor cone) was described by Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor.

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