Real-time single particle mass spectrometry, or continuous aerosol mass spectrometry, was originally developed in the 1970s for the purpose of identifying the chemical composition of airborne particulate matter in real-time. Although this technique has continued to evolve throughout the following decades, the fundamental characteristic of this method remains the same, involving the continuous introduction of solid particle or liquid droplets directly into the ion source region of a mass spectrometer. Continuous sample introduction allows for the chemical analysis of single airborne particles in real-time. A number of mass analyzers have been employed in real-time single particle mass spectrometry. The original real-time single particle mass spectrometer used a magnetic sector mass analyzer. Quadrupole, double-focusing, and ion trap mass spectrometers have also been utilized. The majority of the current real-time single particle mass spectrometry techniques use time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In the literature, a variety of general names have been applied to real-time single particle mass spectrometry methods. These names include direct-inlet mass spectrometry, on-line laser microprobe mass spectrometry, particle analysis by mass spectrometry, particle beam mass spectrometry, and rapid-single particle mass spectrometry. This review covers real-time single particle mass spectrometry techniques that were developed from 1973 through 1998, specifically for analyzing airborne particulate matter, including environmental aerosols, biological aerosols, and clean-room aerosols. Because the majority of the historical and current real-time single particle mass spectrometers have been employed for atmospheric aerosols, this topic is the primary focus of this review. This review does not include on-line mass spectrometry methods that are employed as a detector for other instrumental methods, such as liquid chromatography.

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实时单颗粒质谱：气雾剂化学分析四分之一世纪的历史回顾

实时单粒子质谱法或连续气溶胶质谱法最初是在1970年代开发的，目的是实时识别空气中颗粒物的化学成分。尽管此技术在接下来的几十年中一直在不断发展，但该方法的基本特征仍然相同，包括将固体颗粒或液滴直接连续引入质谱仪的离子源区域。连续的样品引入可实时对单个空气中的颗粒进行化学分析。实时单颗粒质谱仪中已经使用了许多质量分析仪。最初的实时单粒子质谱仪使用的是磁性扇形质量分析仪。四极，双焦点，离子阱质谱仪和离子阱质谱仪也已被利用。当前大多数实时单粒子质谱技术都使用飞行时间质谱。在文献中，各种各样的通用名称已被应用到实时单粒子质谱分析方法中。这些名称包括直接入口质谱，在线激光微探针质谱，通过质谱进行的粒子分析，粒子束质谱和快速单粒子质谱。这篇综述涵盖了从1973年到1998年开发的实时单颗粒质谱技术，专门用于分析空气中的颗粒物，包括环境气溶胶，生物气溶胶和洁净室气溶胶。由于大多数历史和当前的实时单粒子质谱仪已用于大气气溶胶，因此本主题是本综述的主要重点。该评价不包括用作其他仪器方法（例如液相色谱法）检测器的在线质谱分析方法。