US Patent No. 6,727,497. Charge reduction in electrospray mass spectrometry. Inventors: Mark Scalf, Lloyd Smith, Michael Westphall, Daniel Ebeling. Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Covers a controlled method of reducing charge states of ions produced by electrospray ionization to produce mostly singly charged ions, via reactions with biopolar ions from an appropriate particle source. The reduced ions are produced in a special chamber and then detected using an orthogonal electrospray TOF mass spec. The charge reduction chamber also can be adapted to fit other mass specs.
US Patent No. 6,723,985. Multiple electrospray device, systems and methods. Inventors: Gary Schultz, Thomas Corso, Simon Prosser. Assignee: Advion BioSciences.
Covers a microchip-based electrospray device, system, and method of fabrication. The electrospray device consists of a substrate defining a channel between the entrance and exit orifices, a nozzle, and an electric field for generating an electrospray. Multiple electrospray plumes are generated from a single fluid stream that provide ion intensity in a mass spectrum that is approximately proportional to the number of plumes formed for analytes present in the fluid. An array of miniaturized nozzles can be formed to generate multiple electrospray plumes from multiple nozzles.
US Patent No. 6,723,983. High throughput of laser desorption mass spectra in time-of-flight mass spectrometers. Inventor: Armin Holle. Assignee: Bruker Daltonik.
Covers a TOF mass spectrometer for acquiring spectra of primary or daughter ions with high mass precision. To do this, the periodic voltage pulse sequences are run continuously at a fixed frequency, to avoid disturbances to the electrical and thermal equilibrium. The voltages and delay times are designed to be independent of the mass of the precursor ions.
US Patent No. 6,721,663. Method for manipulating protein or DNA sequence data in order to generate complementary peptide ligands. Inventors: Gareth Roberts, Jonathan Heal. Assignee: Proteom Limited.
Covers a method for computational analysis and manipulation of DNA and protein sequence data found in public databases. This includes the search of the data to identify portions of the sequences that code for intermolecular surfaces or target regions. The procedure compares pairs of frames to identify relevant intramolecular and intermolecular regions on the basis of relationships between amino acids according to a coding scheme. Another iteration of the invention is to input protein structure data into an iterative procedure that evaluates for each frame in the structure a complementary relationship score between the amino acids in the frame and each amino acid within a certain distance from the frame.
US Patent No. 6,720,157. Chips having elevated sample surfaces. Inventors: Pierre Indermuhle, Frank Zaugg, Peter Wagner, Steffen Nock, Assignee: Zyomyx.
Covers a chip with a base that has a non-sample surface and at least one structure with a pillar. Each structure includes an elevated sample surface with respect to the non-sample surface, and each can be adapted to receive a sample.
US Patent No. 6,717,131. Clean daughter-ion spectra using time-of-flight mass spectrometers. Inventors: Armin Holle, Aurelio La Rotta. Assignee: Bruker Daltonik.
Covers methods and instruments for measuring daughter-ion spectra in reflector TOF mass spectrometers using a parent-ion selector. A second selector pulls out most parent ions and metastable daughter ions, reducing the occurrence of background noise and saturated parent ion peaks. The remaining parent ions that are not removed with the rest produce a parent ion peak that can be used as a mass reference.
US Patent No. 6,716,636. Methods for sequencing proteins. Inventors: Luke Schneider, Michael Hall, Jeffrey Peterson. Assignee: Target Discovery.
Covers a method for protein sequencing using mass spectrometry that overcomes difficulties usually associated with MS-based protein sequencing techniques such as ionization inefficiency and inaccuracies in fragment mass. The invention avoids proteolytic or chemolytic digestion of the protein, reducing sequencing times. This invention includes the protein labeling agents that attach to the C- or N-terminus, as well as the methods for analyzing the protein using a mass spec fragmentation method to determine the sequence of at least the two C-terminus of two N-terminus residues.
US Patent No. 6,716,629. Apparatus for assay, synthesis and storage, and methods of manufacture, use, and manipulation therof. Inventors: Robert Hess, John Linton, Tanya Kanigan, Colin Brenan, Can Ozbal. Assignee: BioTrove.
Covers methods of making devices that have a high-density array of through-holes; as well as methods of cleaning and refurbishing the surfaces of the devices, called platens; as well as methods for making high-density arrays using the devices.
The invention also includes methods for implementing transformations on the arrayed compounds. Also included are methods for analyzing the contents of the arrays.
US Patent No. 6,716,395. Integrated protein affinity capture centrifugation device. Inventors: Timothy Haystead, George Young. Assignee: Serenex.
Covers a method and apparatus, including an array of affinity elements, for binding and eluting the proteins of a proteome. The eluents can include a proteome component, a chemical library component, or an affinity element. The method and apparatus can be used for activity screens, drug target screens, interaction specificity screens, and quantitative analysis.
US Patent No. 6,720,555. Apparatus and method for ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Inventor: Peter O’Connor. Assignee: the Trustees of Boston University.
Covers an apparatus and method for performing FT-ICR mass spectrometry, whereby the superconducting magnet and vacuum chamber are cooled together to the operating temperature for the magnet. This way, the vacuum chamber is cold enough to function as a cryogenic vacuum pump.
US Patent No. 6,717,135. Ion mirror for time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Inventor: Stuart Hansen. Assignee: Agilent Technologies.
Covers an apparatus for receiving and reflecting ions in a mass spectrometer flight tube. This ion mirror includes a front, middle, and rear electrode, each of which are designed for receiving and reflecting ions. The electrodes have a conductive material that create electric fields that retard and reflect ions back toward an ion detector.
US Patent No. 6,717,130. Methods and apparatus for mass spectrometry. Inventors: Robert Bateman, John Hoyes, Edward Clayton. Assignee: Micromass.
Covers a method for identifying parent ions by matching daughter ions that are produced at the same time that the parent ions elute. A collision cell that handles the ions switches between a mode wherein the ions are substantially fragmented and mode wherein they are not. Mass spectra are taken in both modes and compared. Daughter ions are matched to parent ions based on the closeness of their elution times, enabling the parent ions to be identified.