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Experiments are described that illustrate solvent oxidation, emitter electrode corrosion, and analyte oxidation in positive ion mode nano-electrospray mass spectrometry using a wire-in-a-capillary, bulk-loaded nano-electrospray emitter geometry. Time-lapsed color photography of pH and metal specific indicator solutions within operating nano-electrospray emitters, as well as temporal changes in the ions observed in the nano-electrospray mass spectra, are used to probe these reactions, judge their magnitude, and study the time dependent changes in solution composition and gas-phase ion signal brought about as a result of these electrochemical reactions. The significance of these observations for analytical applications of nano-electrospray mass spectrometry are discussed.
Berkel et al. (Sun,) studied this question.