Basics of mass spectrometry
Michal Holcapek, University of Pardubice, Czech RepublicAbstract Mass spectrometry is used for the structural elucidation or confirmation of organic, bioorganic and organometallic compounds and for quantitative analysis in environmental, pharmaceutical, forensic, food/feed, and other sciences. The first step in the measurement is the conversion of neutral molecules to charged species (i.e. ions), which are then separated according to their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio in a mass analyzer. The relative abundances of individual m/z values are recorded by a suitable detector to produce what is known as a mass spectrum. Mass spectrometry can be coupled to both gas-phase and liquid-phase separation techniques, enabling the structural analysis of complex mixtures after their chromatographic separation without time consuming off-line isolation.
KeywordsMass analyzer, Mass-to-charge, Ionization, Ion separation, Detection, Tandem mass spectrometry
LevelBasic
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