The mass spectrometer system 10 can be lightweight, typically between about 1-25 pounds (including a vacuum pump or pumps), and, optionally, batteries. The housing 10h holding the mass spectrometer system and ESI inlet device 15 can be configured as a handheld or benchtop housing. In some embodiments, a portable housing can have a form factor similar in size and weight as a Microsoft? Xbox?, Sony? PLAYSTATION? or Nintendo? Wii? game console or game controller, or similar to a form factor associated with an electronic notebook, PDA, IPAD or smartphone and may optionally have a pistol grip. However, other configurations of the housing may be used as well as other arrangements of the control circuit. The housing 10h typically holds a display screen 10d and can have a User Interface 10i such as a Graphic User Interface (“GUI”) (
The system 100 may also include a transceiver, GPS module and antenna and can be configured to communicate with a smartphone or other pervasive computing device (laptop, electronic notebook, PDA, IPAD, and the like) to transfer data or for control of operation, e.g., with a secure APP or other wireless programmable communication protocol.
In some embodiments, the mass spectrometer 100 is configured so that the ESI device 20 as the ion source transmits ions at atmospheric pressure to the inlet device 15 and the mass analyzer 30 and detector 40 operate at near isobaric conditions and at a pressure that is greater than 100 mTorr.