Christie G. Enke, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
The University of New Mexico
Dr. Enke has disclosed 12 inventions, received seven issued U. S. patents, and has one pending patent application for his mass spectrometry and automated instrumentation technologies.
Dr. Enke’s technologies include one of chemistry’s most widely used techniques—triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. His low-energy, collision-induced dissociation (CID) technique for tandem mass spectrometry, which is used to break ions into smaller ones, led to the development of the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and other tandem-in-space and tandem-in-time techniques. Tandem mass spectrometry is used in many applications requiring analysis of complex mixtures, such as forensics, proteomics, and pharmaceuticals. Other inventions include the development of a 3-D instrument for simultaneous recording of MS/MS spectra, a new kind of mass spectrometer called “distance-of-flight,” and a new means to characterize the number and relative abundance of components in complex mixtures.
Dr. Enke’s latest disclosed technology is a program for use within a mass spectrometer’s operating system that would record a sequence of steps selected by the operator, creating a program which would carry out those steps when activated. The program for this new sequence would also be viewable and editable by the operator for modification. Complex instrumentation, such as automated mass spectrometers, have a user interface which allows users to choose among instrument operations offered by the manufacturer but do not allow the user to create their own specialized sequence of operations.
Dr. Enke’s research interests have included electro-analytical chemistry, electrolytic conductance, computer-based instrumentation, array-detector spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, the fundamentals of electrospray ionization, and the theory of complex mixtures.
Issued U. S. Patents
| 6,452,166, | Resistive Stabilization of the Electrospray Ionization Process, issued September 17, 2002 |
| 6,518,569, | Ion Mirror, issued February 11, 2003 |
| 7,041,968, | Distance of Flight Spectrometer for MS and Simultaneous Scanless MS/MS, issued May 9, 2006 |
| 7,429,728, | Distance of Flight Spectrometer for MS and Simultaneous Scanless MS/MS, issued September 30, 2008 |
| 7,947,950, | Energy Focus for Distance-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry with Constant Momentum Acceleration and an Ion Mirror, issued May 24, 2011 |
| 7,960,692, | Ion Focusing and Detection in a Miniature Linear Ion Trap for Mass Spectrometry, issued June 14, 2011 |
| 8,378,296, | Enhancement of Concentration Range of Chromatographically Detectable Components with Array Detector Mass Spectrometry, issued February 19, 2013 |
Pending Patent Application
- Means for User Programming of Automated Instrumentation