Design and Application of Development Platform for Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer Based on LabVIEW

Compared to single quadrupoles, triple quadrupole mass spectrometers have multiple operation modes and more complex timing sequences. In order to meet the needs of research and development, a measurement and control platform for triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was designed using a virtual instrument technology. The platform hardware consists of industrial computer, PXIe board and auxiliary circuit. The software is based on LabVIEW development environment, with state machine as the basic architecture. Labview software was combined with two modules of instrument control and data processing. The control module is based on LabVIEW’s VISA and DAQ modules and implements control automation. The data processing part integrates the advantages of LabVIEW′s graphical interface and Matlab′spowerful wavelet analysis algorithm package, and is adapted to the spectrum analysis algorithm, which can provide data support for instrument developers. The setup time of each working electrode of the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer directly affects the setting range of the relevant parameters of the scan. The development platform was used to measure the time response characteristics of the ion optical path, high voltage and quadrupole power supply. Firstly, output a step signal by using the voltage output module of the development platform, then design the corresponding acquisition circuit to complete the measurement of each voltage. The measurement results showed that the step response stabilization times of the ion optical system Q0 and DF were 800 μs and 3.42 ms, the IS and CEM stabilization times of the high-voltage power supply module were 45 ms and 230 ms, respectively, the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer completed the scanning voltage when switching between different mass segments. The stabilization time was 600-900 μs. These response- time data can provide an important basis for the performance evaluation of the electrical system of the self-developed instrument, and also provide a reference for the setting of the adjustment range of the instrument parameters. The developed platform can test the impact of collision gas flow rate on the signal intensity of product ions, precursor ion m/z 906.7 was selected, and the intensity of three product ions m/z 175.0, 233.2, 889.5 under the condition of collision energy 35 V were monitored. The curve of change of ion intensity with the gas flow was determined and the anti-crosstalk ability of the collision cell was tested. In the MRM scanning mode, two parent ions m/z 906.7 and 932 with the same product ion m/z 175.1 were selected, different switching times were set, and the parent ions were recorded. And the signal intensity of the product ion and calculate the crosstalk rate, the experimental results showed that the switching time of about 5 ms is the best choice. The developed platform has the advantages of friendly interface, easy maintenance, and expandable functions, which can be an effective and convenient tool in the development of triple quadrupole mass spectrometer.