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:

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...

The mass analyzer is a crucial component of the mass spectrometer. In the ionization chamber, the vaporized sample is bombarded with a high-energy electron beam to generate a radical cation and further fragment into neutral molecules, radicals, and cations. A series of negatively charged accelerator plates accelerate the cations into the mass analyzer. The mass analyzer separates ions according to their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios and then directs them to the detector. The common types of mass...

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 spectrometry is an analytical technique used to determine the molecular mass and molecular formula of a compound. The basic principle of mass spectrometry is to generate ions from the analyte molecule and measure these ion abundances against their molecular mass. One common type of ionization, known as electron ionization or EI, bombards the analyte molecules in the gas phase with high-energy electron beams. The electron beams displace an electron from the molecule and leave behind a...

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...