Microscale differential ion mobility spectrometry for field deployable chemical analysis

Differential ion mobility spectrometry (DMS) has emerged to be particularly well suited for the rapid and selective identification of gas phase ions at atmospheric pressure. DMS can overcome some limitations associated with mass spectrometry (MS) and conventional ion mobility spectrometry such as the use of vacuum systems. Miniaturization of DMS to the size of a palm portable device using state-of-art microelectromechanical systems significantly lowers power consumption, decreases analysis times (sub milliseconds) and reduces sample consumption. Microscale DMS can be used as a standalone ion detector or coupled to MS and gas and liquid chromatography platforms to enable the detection of a wide range of chemical species. Here, recent significant progress in the development and application of microscale DMS is comprehensively reviewed. The advantages, limitations, and future challenges for microscale DMS instrumentation for analytical, environmental, and bioanalytical chemistry applications are addressed.