Ion mobility spectrometry: Ion source development and applications in physical and biological sciences

The utility of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been steadily growing, and it cuts across diverse areas in physical and biological sciences. The development of ion sources, particularly in the context of IMS, is described. IMS ion sources operate efficiently in ambient environment and yield ions for a wide range of complex molecules including biological materials. While significant progress has been made in this area through the development of a variety of ion sources, further research to address several key issues, namely, ionization processes, reaction chemistry, and overall system miniaturization for field deployment of IMS, is the primary focus of current activities. Aside from reviewing the present state of the art of ion sources for IMS, this paper has discussed the wide range of applications and current trends of research in the field.