The J105 3D Chemical Imager is a high performance SIMS system which uses DC primary cluster beams and a revolutionary time of flight analyser to create a new paradigm in organic analysis. The use of a DC primary ion beam allows rapid imaging with continuous data acquisition (i.e. no separate etch cycle), with simultaneous high spatial resolution and high mass resolution. For imaging of organic samples, the instrument is equipped with 40 kV C60 and gold cluster beams. The analyser is a dual-focussing combination of a shaped field buncher and a non-linear reflectron.

Automated sample insertion, a 1 micron precision 3-axis stage and camera assisted sample positioning allow simple and precise experimental setup. There is also provision for cold sample handling and fracture to facilitate analysis of frozen hydrated or freeze-dried samples. The J105 operates entirely under computer control; experiments can be routinely pre-programmed and run automatically.

Features

• High mass resolution and high spatial resolution at the same time.
• MS-MS
• Depth profiling
• 3D imaging
• Large area imaging
• Rapid, continuous acquisition
• Automated operation
• Advanced data viewing facility

The following data, provided by the Surface Anaysis and Research Centre at The University of Manchester, illustrates the versatility and performance of the J105 Instrument in tissue and cell analysis:

Imaging of cheek cells

The image to the left shows m/z 102.8 concentrated in the cell nuclei, and mass 103.0 throughout the cell, demonstrating the need for high mass resolution when imaging. The field of view was approximately 170 x 150 microns.

Imaging of unwashed rat kidney section

By using a stage scanning programme, a series of small area images can be tiled to form a large area image. The data shown above were acquired by tiling 10 x 10 images, each 32 x 32 pixels, to form a total image with FOV 9 x 9 mm. The images show the different distributions in the kidney of m/z 184 (left) and 577 (right).

3D cell imaging

3D reconstruction of image data from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) cells. Iso-surface rendering shows the distribution of signal in 3D through the entire sample while orthogonal slices through the data set facilitate visualisation of the chemical distribution within cells.

MS-MS of Haloperidol

When the MS-MS mode is selected on the J105, gas is introduced into a collision cell just before the first time focus, and an ion gate on the time focus selects the parent mass of interest. The figure shows the MS-MS spectrum of Haloperidol—showing parent peak and daughter peaks from collision induced dissociation.