The invention includes an ion mobility spectrometer having a liquid filled
drift chamber. The chamber has an ionization region partitioned from and
an ion separation region by a reversible ion-migration block. An
electrical field within the chamber allows ions to migrate toward the
electrode collector. Passage of ions from the ionization region is
triggered by reversing the block allowing ions to migrate into the ion
separation region. The invention includes a method of ion mobility
analysis in liquid phase. Ions are mobilized to migrate through a drift
liquid and are detected at an end of a drift chamber. The invention also
includes a method of generating ions in a sample. A sample containing
molecules in a first solvent is introduced into a second solvent through
a charged capillary where the electrically charged sample is
electro-disperses to ionize the molecules.