BOOK REVIEW: Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Int. J. Ion Mobil. Spec.

DOI 10.1007/s12127-010-0050-9

BOOK REVIEW

Alexandre A. Svartsburg: Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry JĂśrg Ingo Baumbach

# Springer-Verlag 2010 Bibliography Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry Alexandre A. Svartsburg CRC Press,Taylor & Francis Groups, Boca Raton, FL, USA

Contents The book is comprised of five chapters each supported with cited literature and supporting content of indices and list of nomenclature. The title describes well the focus of this monograph, which is the form of ion mobility spectrometry where ions are characterized and separated in strong electric fields with asymmetric waveforms in contrast to conventional ion characterization below the socalled low field limit. The title is functionally descriptive encompassing the whole of this method known variously as

J. I. Baumbach (*) Department Clinical Diagnostics, KIST Europe, Campus E 71, 66123 SaarbrĂźcken, Germany e-mail: baumbach@kist-europe.de

field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), differential mobility spectrometry (DMS), ion drift spectrometry and others, all of which became recognized internationally in the early 1990s from inceptions in Novosibirsk and Tashkent afterwards developed further in North America and Europe. Results from the early Russian literature are well-represented in this treatment of DMS. In the first chapter, the separation and characterization of ions through gaseous transport is described. This includes the foundations of ion motion, characterization of ions with diffusion measurements, ion dynamics in gases, and relationship to ion mobility measurements to structures.

Helpful discussion is given to effects of temperature and ion geometry and to dynamic ranges; this background is valuable with respect to presentations in later chapters.

The second chapter concerns the fundamentals of diffusion and drift of ions in high electric fields and includes ion behaviors of clusterization, inelastic collisions, dipole moment interactions, and rotational inelasticity. All of these are necessary descriptions of fundamentals for DMS and distinctive behaviors in differential mobility analysis.

Specifics on separations in FAIMS and DMS are described in the third chapter with emphasis given to optimizing separations and limits of applications of the principles. Ion transformations are considered with these other parameters with interest in strategies for controlling resolving power.

Additionally, some aspects of ion motion, not often described, are included here such as the effects of hysteresis in ion mobility complimenting other topics of mixed gas atmospheres, cyrogenic temperature regimes, and more.

In the next chapter, the fourth, simulations of differential mobility processes are described with interest in ion separations and the effects on this from instrumental parameters.

Particularly valuable is the treatment of homogenous and

Int. J. Ion Mobil. Spec.

inhomogeneous electric fields and their significance in differential mobility measurements.

The last chapter treats new concepts in nonlinear ion mobility methods which is especially useful as a glimpse for future directions in DMS or FAIMS. This is particularly interesting mindful of the rapid development of DMS. From the first disclosures from the former USSR research centers in the early 1990s, the descriptions and practice of DMS have passed rapidly from proof-of-concept experiments to commercialization with more than three DMS initiatives, and reasonably good models of performance as evident in this book.

The text is well written, the figures and tables clear structured and mentioned in the text. Sometimes colored figures could be helpful in further editions. Some relations far from the theory looking more on the detection power in real applications should be considered also.

Comparison with existing literature This book is a useful supplement to other well-established publications in the field of ion mobility spectrometry. The references are

appropriately selected for the material presented. The book is a really good review of current knowledge about FAIMS.

Readership recommendation This book is a compendium of achievements in differential ion mobility spectrometry with special respect to nonlinear ion transport. Topics presented in the book could be of interest to scientists working in the field of ion mobility spectrometry, analytical chemists, and employers in industrial laboratories with interest on the theoretical background of effective gas trace analysis, among others.

Summary Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry窶年onlinear Ion Transport and Fundamentals of FAIMS is a wellwritten publication and a rich source of information in the background of IMS and FAIMS. The principles of operation and ion transportation are useful not only for researchers active in the field, but also for students of IMS, graduate students, and prospective users of DMS technology.