Maximizing the Ion-Usage of timsTOF Acquisitions Through Segmented Ion Mobility Elution and Curved diagonal-PASEF Methods Boosts the Analytical Performance

LC-MS approaches aim at enhancing the analytical performance while enhancing throughput. These requirements emphasize studies aiming at maximizing the utility of any available ion population during acquisitions. The timsTOF is a suitable model for this as it provides an additional separation dimension through trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS). While the ion mobility elution (IM) is efficient, its linear implementation results in inequal ion elution over the ramp time. Here, we test a novel, segmented IM approach in the TIMS cell which simulated non-linear elutions in combination with an improved mode diagonal-PASEF that can seamlessly follow the curvature of the ion populations. We provide evidence that maximizing the usage of the ion population could show significant gains in analytical performance.