What is Probe electrospray ionization?

Probe electrospray ionization is an electrospray-based ambient ionization technique which is coupled with mass spectrometry for sample analysis. Unlike traditional mass spectrometry ion sources which must be maintained in a vacuum, ambient ionization techniques permit sample ionization under ambient conditions, allowing for the high-throughput analysis of samples in their native state, often with minimal or no sample pre-treatment. The PESI ion source simply consists of a needle to which a high voltage is applied following sample pick-up, initiating electrospray directly from the solid needle.