{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T12:52:47Z","timestamp":1791895967374,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"American Chemical Society (ACS)","issue":"40","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790380800000},"content-version":"stm-asf","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.15223\/policy-029"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790380800000},"content-version":"stm-asf","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.15223\/policy-037"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790380800000},"content-version":"stm-asf","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.15223\/policy-045"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["21626118"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["21626118"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["22476064"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22476064"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The ion source is a key component of mass spectrometers, where electricity, lasers, and heat are typically used for converting molecules into ions; however, this poses a challenge due to the high-energy consumption, especially for portable miniMS systems in field environments. In this study, we report a field-deployable approach utilizing a miniature mass spectrometry (MS) system coupled with \u03b1-particle ionization and self-suction sampling. Without any external energy input, high-energy \u03b1-particles stably generated from radioactive sources (e.g., Am-241 and Th-232) directly ionize various ambient aerosol samples, which are introduced into the system via a self-suction effect under a slight differential pressure (\u223c0.3 kPa). A range of ion species, including radical cations, anions, and protonated ions, were observed. The underlying ionization mechanism is proposed to involve a complex cascade of processes, namely, \u03b1-particle impact, dissociative electron attachment, and subsequent chemical ionization. The practical utility of this miniMS system was unambiguously validated through the on-site detection of diverse real-world samples. For direct analyte measurement, acceptable relative standard deviations (RSDs) of &amp;lt;20% (n = 6), good quantitative linearity over more than 2 orders of magnitude, and low limits of detection at the ng\/mL level were achieved. Overall, our experimental data demonstrated that the \u03b1-particle source not only serves as a compact, high-energy, and stable ionization platform for miniature MS in field environments but also offers a valuable tool for investigating fundamental gas-phase ion chemistry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.analchem.6c04777","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T15:01:18Z","timestamp":1790434878000},"page":"29399-29405","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Miniature Mass\nSpectrometry for On-Site Analysis Using\nSelf-Suction Sampling and \u03b1-Particle Ionization"],"prefix":"10.1021","volume":"98","author":[{"given":"Ruoying","family":"Xing","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan University , , ,","place":["Guangzhou, China, 510632"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan University , , ,","place":["Guangzhou, China, 510632"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianfeng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan University , , ,","place":["Guangzhou, China, 510632"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiani","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan University , , ,","place":["Guangzhou, China, 510632"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8294-1538","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Bin","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan University , , ,","place":["Guangzhou, China, 510632"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"316","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026101308064139200_cit1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-anchem-061010-114018","article-title":"A Century\nof Progress in Molecular Mass Spectrometry","volume":"4","author":"McLafferty","year":"2011","journal-title":"Annu. 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