Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR), also known as Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FT-MS), is a type of mass analyzer (or mass spectrometer) for determining the mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of ions based on the cyclotron frequency of the ions in a fixed magnetic field.

The University of Warwick Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) Laboratory houses a Bruker 12 T solariX FTICR mass spectrometer with the capabilities outlined below, and in Summer 2021 we will be taking delivery of a new Bruker 15 T solariX 2xR instrument.

Example research areas include: peptides and proteins (e.g. post-translational modifications, deamidation and isomerization of aspartic acid residues), ionization methods, petroleum (crude oils, asphaltenes, etc.), fuels, bio-oils/biofuels, environmental samples, agrochemicals, and development of new data processing methods.

To arrange use of the facility, please contact Prof. Peter O'Connor (p.oconnor@warwick.ac.uk) and Dr. Mark Barrow (M.P.Barrow@warwick.ac.uk) in the first instance to discuss your needs prior to submitting your application.

Ionization Methods:

• Electrospray ionization (ESI)
• Nanospray
• Advion NanoMate
• Laser desorption/ionization (LDI)
• Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)
• Atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI)
• Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)

Dissociation Methods:

• Collision-induced dissociation (CID)
• Electron transfer dissociation (ETD)
• Sustained off-resonance irradiation collision-induced dissociation (SORI-CID)
• Electron capture dissociation (ECD)
• Electron induced dissociation (EID)
• Infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD)
• Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD)

Separation Methods:

• Proxeon EASY-nLC II (liquid chromatography) for LC-ESI-FTICR MS experiments
• Agilent 7890A (gas chromatography) for GC-APCI-FTICR MS experiments

In-House Software:

• "Themis" for processing of replicate data sets
• "Rhapso" for automated stitching of FT-ICR data segments
• "KairosMS" for processing of hyphenated FT-ICR data (e.g. GC-FTICR, LC-FTICR, etc.) and for data visualization and sample comparison

Uncommon Techniques:

• 2-dimensional mass spectrometry (2DMS) and MS/2DMS experiments.

For more information, please visit the Warwick FT-ICR facility pages.