Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Mass Spectrometers

Mass Spectrometers

This lesson details the instrumentation of a mass spectrometer—a physical instrument to perform mass spectrometry on analyte molecules and record the characteristic mass spectra. This is achieved via three chief functions:

MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry is a powerful characterization technique that can identify and separate a wide variety of compounds ranging from chemical to biological entities, based on their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). The instruments that allow this detection, known as mass spectrometers, have three components: an ion source, a mass analyzer, and a detector. These spectrometers differ based on the nature of their ion source and analyzers.Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) is a commonly...

Mass Spectrum: Interpretation

Mass Spectrum: Interpretation

An unknown compound can be established by identifying the molecular ion peak in the mass spectrum. The molecular ion peak is often weak or absent due to the predominance of fragmentation in high-energy electron beams. In such cases, a soft-energy electron beam can be used to scan the spectrum to enhance the intensity of the molecular ion peak. Additionally, chemical ionization, field ionization, and desorption ionization spectra are used to obtain a relatively intense molecular ion peak.To...

Mass Analyzers: Common Types

Mass Analyzers: Common Types

The quadrupole mass analyzer consists of four cylindrical metal rods arranged in a diamond carrying a DC voltage and a radio-frequency AC voltage. The motion of ions through the quadrupole depends on the field strength, causing only ions of a certain m/z to resonate successfully and strike the detector at a given field strength. Though the transmission rate for these analyzers is high, the exact elemental composition of the sample is not determined because of low resolution; however, they are...

Mass Spectrometry: Complex Analysis

Mass Spectrometry: Complex Analysis

Mass spectrometry is an important technique for the identification of pure compounds. However, it has some limitations for the analysis of complex mixtures, often due to excessive fragmentation making the spectrum too complicated to decipher. Mass spectrometry can be combined with suitable separation methods in sequence, forming hyphenated methods, which are useful in the analysis of complex mixtures.
GC–MS is a powerful hyphenated method commonly used in forensics and environmental...

Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Tandem mass spectrometry is a technique that uses multiple mass analyzers in series to obtain a higher selectivity and reduce chemical noise during analyte detection. Instruments with multiple analyzers separated by an interaction cell enable secondary fragmentation and selected study of the fragment ions.Secondary fragmentations occur in the interaction cell and can be induced by various factors. Fragmentation induced by collision with inert gases, such as N2, Ar, He, etc., is called...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Oligopeptide fragmentation viewed as constant neutral loss.

Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry·2013

Same author

Endothermic ion molecule reactions.

Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry·2013

Same author

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry of fullerenes.

Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry·2013

Same author

Peer Reviewed: The New Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry.

Analytical chemistry·2011

Same author

Nitrosative stress with HIV dementia causes decreased L-prostaglandin D synthase activity.

Neurology·2007

Same author

Identification of novel small molecules that bind to two different sites on the surface of tetanus toxin C fragment.

Chemical research in toxicology·2002

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Atmospheric-pressure Molecular Imaging of Biological Tissues and Biofilms by LAESI Mass Spectrometry

Atmospheric-pressure Molecular Imaging of Biological Tissues and Biofilms by LAESI Mass Spectrometry

Published on: September 3, 2010

Miniaturized linear time-of-flight mass spectrometer with pulsed extraction.

Maria C Prieto¹, Viatcheslav V Kovtoun, R J Cotter

¹Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

Journal of Mass Spectrometry : JMS

|November 26, 2002

Summary

A miniaturized time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzer achieves improved resolution for high-mass biomolecules. This compact instrument shows potential for rapid biological and medical analyses, including diagnostics and security applications.

More Related Videos

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Published on: January 9, 2014

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization

Published on: August 6, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Atmospheric-pressure Molecular Imaging of Biological Tissues and Biofilms by LAESI Mass Spectrometry

Atmospheric-pressure Molecular Imaging of Biological Tissues and Biofilms by LAESI Mass Spectrometry

Published on: September 3, 2010

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Published on: January 9, 2014

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization

Published on: August 6, 2018

Area of Science:

Analytical Chemistry
Biophysics
Instrumentation

Background:

Miniaturized mass spectrometers are crucial for accessible biological and medical analyses.
Achieving high resolution at high masses in compact instruments remains a challenge.
Time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzers offer potential for sensitive detection of large molecules.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate improved mass resolution in a miniaturized linear TOF mass analyzer at high mass ranges.
To evaluate the utility of this compact instrument for various biological and medical applications.
To enhance the detection capabilities for large biomolecules and complex biological samples.

Main Methods:

Utilized a two-stage, pulsed-extraction design in a 3-inch linear TOF mass analyzer.
Incorporated a floatable flight tube and accelerated ions to 12 keV for high-mass detection.
Eliminated post-acceleration at the detector to reduce ion-neutral arrival time differences.

Main Results:

Achieved a mass resolution of 1:1200 at m/z 4500 and 1:600 at m/z 12000.
Successfully measured proteins up to 66,000 Da, oligonucleotide mixtures, and biological spores.
Demonstrated the capability for high-mass analysis with improved spectral resolution.

Conclusions:

The miniaturized TOF mass analyzer offers high resolution for high-mass analytes.
This instrument is suitable for rapid analysis in proteomics, diagnostics, and security.
The design advancements expand the potential applications of compact mass spectrometry in life sciences.