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Review Article
12.
Mass spectrometry- A review -
R S Patel, M Roy
and G K Dutta
Vet World. 2012; 5(3): 185-192
doi:
10.5455/vetworld.201
2.185-192
Abstract
The mass spectrometer is an instrument that can
measure the masses and relative concentrations of
atoms and molecules. It is also an analytical
technique that identifies the chemical composition
of a compound or sample based on the
mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles. A mass
spectrometer has three essential modules, an ion
source-which transforms the molecules in a sample
into ionized fragments, a mass analyser-which
sorts the ions by their masses by applying
electro- magnetic field and a detector-which
measures the value of some indicator quantity and
thus provides data for calculating the abundances
each ion fragment present The technique has both
qualitative and quantitative uses. Mass
spectrometers are sensitive detectors of isotopes
based on their masses. They are used in carbon
dating and other radioactive dating processes. The
combination of a mass spectrometer and a gas
chromatograph makes a powerful tool for the
detection of trace quantities of contaminants or
toxins. A number of satellites and spacecraft have
mass spectrometers for the identification of the
small numbers of particles intercepted in space
Mass spectrometry is an important tool for
characterization of proteins. Pharmacokinetics is
often studied using mass spectrometry because of
the complex nature of the matrix (often blood or
urine. Mass spectrometers are used for the
analysis of residual gases in high vacuum systems.
Keywords: Mass-charge ratio, ions, analyser,
detector, applications
