Drift-Tube Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry for Nontargeted ′Omics

This chapter describes the developments in drift-tube ion mobility-mass spectrometry (DTIM-MS) that have driven application development in ′omics analyses. Harnessing the additional, orthogonal separation that DTIM provides increased confidence in compound identifications as the mass spectral complexity can be reduced and mobility-derived parameters (most prominently the collision cross section, CCS) used to support identity confirmation goals for a variety of ′omics application areas. Presented within this contribution is a methodology for improving the transmission and maintaining accurate determination of drift time-derived CCS (DTCCS) for low molecular weight compounds for a typical nontargeted ′omics (metabolomics) workflow using liquid chromatography in combination with DTIM-MS.