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Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that identifies and quantifies the molecular composition of substances by ionizing molecules and separating the resulting ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio.

Overview

A sample is ionized — through electron ionization, electrospray ionization, or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization — and the ions are accelerated through a mass analyser such as a quadrupole or time-of-flight instrument before being recorded as a mass spectrum. The resulting pattern of peaks serves as a molecular fingerprint enabling identification down to trace concentrations with extraordinary mass accuracy.

Why it matters

Mass spectrometry is one of the few analytical tools capable simultaneously of identifying unknown compounds, determining molecular weights, and elucidating structure from complex mixtures — making it indispensable in drug discovery, clinical newborn screening, proteomics, and environmental monitoring. Its adoption as a foundational platform across biochemistry and medicine represents a major advance in the pace and precision of molecular science.

Related concepts

• Analytical ChemistrylogicalMass Spectrometry provides conceptual grounding that helps explain Analytical Chemistry in this knowledge graph.
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• ChemistrylogicalMass Spectrometry provides conceptual grounding that helps explain Chemistry in this knowledge graph.