Think Negative: Finding the Best Electrospray Ionization/MS Mode for Your Analyte

Abstract

For the first time, the electrospray ionization efficiency (IE) scales in positive and negative mode are united into a single system enabling direct comparison of IE values across ionization modes. This is made possible by the use of a reference compound that ionizes to a similar extent in both positive and negative modes. Thus, choosing the optimal (i.e., most sensitive) ionization conditions for a given set of analytes is enabled. Ionization efficiencies of 33 compounds ionizing in both modes demonstrate that, contrary to general practice, negative mode allows better sensitivity for 46% of such compounds whereas the positive mode is preferred for only 18%, and for 36%, the results for both modes are comparable.