Streamlining Workflows in Ion Mobility Data Acquisition, Calibration and Processing: A Cross-Platform Assessment of Drift Tube and Traveling Wave Methodologies

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a rapidly trending separation strategy within the analytical community due to the complementary separation provided on a timescale conducive to existing LC- and imaging-MS based workflows. New IMS platforms often exhibit enhanced resolving power (Rp) in comparison to existing systems, and while additional separation capacity is always advantageous, ensuring these instrumental developments coincide with appropriate data extraction and analysis methods is pertinent to ensure routine adoption. Here we assess the performance of a new IMS-MS platform, the MOBILion MOBIE (v. 2.0), in relation to a commercially available drift tube platform, the Agilent 6560. Both instruments were operated using matched conditions where possible and metrics of scan speed, Rp, limits of detection (LOD), and propensity for isomer separations via LC-IMS-MS were evaluated. Results from this work indicate that both instruments operate with similar scan speeds in terms of IMS-MS frame generation, and CCS values calculated using the MOBIE were generally ≤1% difference in CCS relative to previously measured drift tube values. Skyline’s “Create Ion Mobility Library” feature was used to facilitate mobility integration despite this discrepancy, and both platforms were able to generate quantitative data using this method as demonstrated with a PFAS analysis of cell media and lysates and featured comparable LODs. The MOBIE system possesses much higher Rp in comparison to the 6560 (200-300 vs. 45-60 CCS/ΔCCS, respectively) and this advancement is clearly defined when assessing PFAS isomers and indicates great promise towards future applications of in-depth feature finding and biomarker discovery.

离子迁移谱（Ion mobility spectrometry, IMS）凭借其提供的互补分离能力适配现有基于液相色谱（LC）和成像质谱（imaging-MS）的工作流程的时间尺度，正成为分析科学界快速兴起的分离技术。相较于现有系统，新型IMS平台通常具备更高的分辨能力（resolving power, Rp）。尽管额外的分离能力始终具有优势，但确保此类仪器开发与适配的数据提取和分析方法相匹配，对于保障其常规应用至关重要。
本研究针对新型IMS-MS平台MOBILion MOBIE（v2.0）与商用漂移管平台Agilent 6560的性能展开对比评估。研究中尽可能保证两台仪器在匹配条件下运行，并评估了扫描速度、分辨能力（Rp）、检出限（limits of detection, LOD）以及通过LC-IMS-MS实现异构体分离的性能。
研究结果显示，两台仪器在IMS-MS帧生成的扫描速度上表现相近；且相较于此前测得的漂移管平台碰撞截面（collision cross section, CCS）值，MOBIE计算得到的CCS值差异通常不超过1%。尽管存在上述差异，本研究仍借助Skyline软件的“创建离子迁移谱库”（Create Ion Mobility Library）功能实现迁移峰积分；通过对细胞培养基和裂解液中的全氟和多氟烷基物质（per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS）进行分析验证，两台平台均可通过该方法生成定量数据，且检出限（LOD）水平相当。
MOBIE系统的分辨能力（Rp）远高于Agilent 6560（分别为200~300与45~60，单位为CCS/ΔCCS），这一优势在评估PFAS异构体时体现得尤为明显，为未来开展深度特征挖掘与生物标志物发现等应用展现出巨大潜力。