Current miniature mass spectrometers mainly focus on the analyses of organic and small biological molecules. In this study, we explored the possibility of developing high resolution miniature ion trap mass spectrometers for whole protein analysis. Theoretical derivation, GPU assisted ion trajectory simulation, and initial experiments on home-developed "brick" mass spectrometer were carried out. Results show that ion-neutral collisions have smaller damping effect on large protein ions, and a higher buffer gas pressure should be applied during ion trap operations for protein ions. As a result, higher pressure ion trap operation not only benefits instrument miniaturization, but also improves mass resolution of protein ions. Dynamic mass scan rate and generation of low charge state protein ions are also found to be helpful in terms of improving mass resolutions. Theory and conclusions found in this work are also applicable in the development of benchtop mass spectrometers.

中文翻译：

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迈向高压微型蛋白质质谱仪：理论和初步结果。

当前的微型质谱仪主要致力于有机和小的生物分子的分析。在这项研究中，我们探索了开发用于全蛋白质分析的高分辨率微型离子阱质谱仪的可能性。进行了理论推导，GPU辅助离子轨迹模拟以及在自行开发的“砖”质谱仪上的初步实验。结果表明，离子中性碰撞对大的蛋白质离子的阻尼作用较小，在离子阱的蛋白质离子捕获操作中应施加较高的缓冲气体压力。结果，高压离子阱操作不仅有利于仪器的小型化，而且还提高了蛋白质离子的质量分辨率。还发现动态质量扫描速率和低电荷状态蛋白离子的产生对改善质量分辨率很有帮助。在这项工作中发现的理论和结论也适用于台式质谱仪的开发。