Dielectric barrier discharge ionization for ambient mass spectrometry

Ambient ionization has been drown much attention and is becoming a hot research direction of mass spectrometry, since it allows the direct analysis of sample surfaces with little or no sample pretreatment under ambient conditions. As one of the ambient ionization techniques, dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI) has recently been developed as the ionization source for mass spectrometry based on gas discharge mechanism. This paper provides a review of the publications related to dielectric barrier discharge ionization techniques. The development and the applications of dielectric barrier discharge ionization for mass spectrometry are discussed including the underlying principles of operation, ionization processes, and representative applications of these techniques.