Development of a Mass Spectrometer for Sequencing Single Protein Molecules

I will describe a new nanopore-based mass spectrometer designed to sequence proteins. The instrument will combine a nanopore ion source capable of extracting ionized aimio acids directly from solution into a vacuum chamber using electric fields[1] with a magnetic sector for separation by charge-to-mass ratio. The mass-separated ions will travel into an array of channeltron-style detectors capable of continuously monitoring the full mass range of interest and tagging each detected ion with its precise arrival time. In addition, our design features tunable hardware which will allow us to precisely align and adjust the position of our ion source to achieve the detection efficiency necessary for sequencing.


[1] Bush, J., Maulbetsch, W., Lepoitevin, M., Wiener, B., Mihovilovic Skanata, M., Moon, W., ... & Stein, D. (2017). The nanopore mass spectrometer. Review of Scientific Instruments, 88(11), 113307.