Hyphenating liquid phase separation techniques with mass spectrometry: on-line or off-line

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Separation Science

Background:

• Hyphenating analytical separation techniques with mass spectrometry (MS) offers significant advantages.
• Early attempts to couple liquid separations with MS faced challenges.
• The development of electrospray ionization (ES) in 1984 enabled the creation of commercial interfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent developments in hyphenating liquid chromatography and electrophoresis with mass spectrometry.
• To examine the influence of post-genomic sciences on these hyphenation techniques.
• To discuss the future role of off-line analysis in the context of hyphenation advances.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent advancements in hyphenated separation techniques.
• Analysis of the impact of post-genomic sciences on analytical instrumentation.
• Discussion of trends in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry.

Main Results:

• Electrospray ionization (ES) has been pivotal in developing routine hyphenated interfaces since 1984.
• Post-genomic sciences have driven innovation in hyphenation techniques.
• Significant progress has been made in coupling liquid chromatography and electrophoresis to MS.

Conclusions:

• Despite advancements in hyphenation, off-line analysis is predicted to play a major future role.
• The evolution of analytical separation techniques continues to be influenced by emerging scientific fields.
• Future directions in mass spectrometry hyphenation balance on-line and off-line approaches.