Agilent | Ion Sources-System and Application Compatibility

In general, most Agilent LC/MS ion sources work with most Agilent LC/MS instruments. However, there are some combinations of ionization technique and mass spectrometer that have little analytical utility. There are also some combinations that, for physical or software reasons, are not supported.

Compatibility of Agilent ion sources and LC/MS systems

	Mass Spectrometer
Ion Source	6100 Series Quadrupole	6200 Series TOF	6300 Series Ion Trap	6400 Series Triple Quad	6500 Series Q-TOF
Electrospray (ESI)	X	X¹	X	X	X¹
Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)	X	X²	X	X	X²
Multimode source	X	X²	X	X	X²
HPLC-Chip nanoelectrospray	X	X²	X	X	X²
Atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI)	X	X²	X	X	X²
1 -Dual nebulizer version available for TOF and Q-TOF instruments 2 -Requires reference mass solution to be introduced into the LC eluent for maximum mass accuracy

Your Agilent sales representative or service representative can provide more specific information about compatibility between your specific model of mass spectrometer and the various Agilent ion sources. Contact an Agilent representative.

Application of Ionization Techniques

No ionization technique is suitable for all applications. Agilent offers you a wide range of choices. The Agilent ion sources are described in more detail in the following table, which provides some general compatibility guidelines. These are only general guidelines; your Agilent customer team can help you choose the best solution for your specific applications and samples. Contact an Agilent representative.

View by:

Significant Compound Classes l Functional Groups l Chemical/Physical Properties l LC Solvents l LC Flow Rate

General guidelines for applicability of ionization techniques

excellent	= best match with highest chance of success
good	= generally works well or can be made to work with minor method adjustments
limited	= unlikely to provide best results, but may work for some samples or with significant method adjustments
poor	= poor match with little chance of success, or not applicable

	Ionization Technique
	Electrospray	APCI	Multimode	APPI
Significant Compound Classes
DNA	good	poor	good	poor
Proteins	excellent	poor	good	poor
Peptides	excellent	poor	good	poor
Amino Acids	good	limited	good	limited
Polymers	good	limited	good	poor
Carbohydrates	good	excellent	excellent	excellent
Triglycerides	limited	excellent	excellent	excellent
Aromatic hydrocarbons	poor	limited	limited	excellent
Aliphatic hydrocarbons	poor	limited	limited	good

	Electrospray	APCI	Multimode	APPI
Functional Groups
Acids	excellent	good	excellent	good
Alcohols	limited	good	good	good
Aldehydes and Ketones	limited	good	good	good
Alkanes	poor	limited	limited	good
Alkynes	poor	good	good	excellent
Amines	excellent	excellent	excellent	excellent
Carbonyls	limited	good	good	good
Esters	good	excellent	excellent	excellent
Ethers	limited	good	good	good
Phenols	good	excellent	excellent	excellent

	Electrospray	APCI	Multimode	APPI
Chemical/Physical Properties
Polar	excellent	good	excellent	good
Non-polar	poor	good	good	excellent
Volatile	excellent	excellent	excellent	excellent
Non-volatile	excellent	poor	excellent	poor
Thermally stable	excellent	excellent	excellent	excellent
Thermally unstable	excellent	poor	limited	poor
Susceptible to ion suppression	poor	good	good	good

	Electrospray	APCI	Multimode	APPI
LC Solvents
Polar solvents	excellent	excellent	excellent	excellent
Non-polar solvents	poor	excellent	excellent	excellent
Salts and buffers	limited	good	good	good
Ion pairing agents	limited	good	good	limited
Volatile modifiers	excellent	excellent	excellent	excellent

	Electrospray	APCI	Multimode	APPI
LC Flow Rate
Greater than 1 mL/min	limited	excellent	excellent	excellent
500 – 1000 µL/min	good	excellent	excellent	excellent
100 – 500 µL/min	excellent	good	excellent	good
1 – 100 µL/min	excellent	limited	good	limited
Less than 1 µL/min	excellent	poor	poor	poor