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Related Concept Videos

Mass Spectrometry: Overview01:19

Mass Spectrometry: Overview

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...
Mass Spectrometers01:16

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:
Mass Spectrum: Interpretation01:24

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...
MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry01:19

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 Spectrometry: Complex Analysis01:21

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...
Mass Spectrometry: Molecular Fragmentation Overview01:20

Mass Spectrometry: Molecular Fragmentation Overview

The ionization of a molecule into a molecular ion inside the mass spectrometer causes instability in the molecule's structure due to the loss of an electron. This eventually leads to the fragmentation or breaking of some bonds in the molecule. The fragmentation occurs predominantly at specific bonds to yield relatively stable fragments.
One type of fragmentation pattern is the cleavage of a single bond in the molecular ion. The cleavage leads to a radical and a cation. The cleavage can occur at...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

T-wave Ion Mobility-mass Spectrometry: Basic Experimental Procedures for Protein Complex Analysis
16:40

T-wave Ion Mobility-mass Spectrometry: Basic Experimental Procedures for Protein Complex Analysis

Published on: July 31, 2010

Introduction to mass spectrometry.

R Wait1

  • 1Division of Pathology, Public Health Laboratory Service Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Salisbury, UK.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|March 15, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a sensitive analytical technique that separates ionized molecules by mass-to-charge ratio. This method provides insights into molecular weight and structure by analyzing fragment ion patterns.

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Area of Science:

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful analytical technique.
  • It separates ionized molecules based on their mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) using electric and magnetic fields.
  • Molecular dissociation during ionization yields fragment ions, providing structural information.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a concise overview of mass spectrometry.
  • To define key terminology associated with MS.
  • To introduce various types of mass spectrometers and their applications.

Main Methods:

  • Ionization of sample molecules.
  • Separation of ions by electric and/or magnetic fields based on m/z.
  • Detection and analysis of ion abundance to generate a mass spectrum.

Main Results:

  • A mass spectrum displays ion m/z against abundance.
  • Interpretation of spectra reveals molecular weight and structure.
  • MS offers high sensitivity, requiring picomoles to nanomoles of sample.

Conclusions:

  • Mass spectrometry is a sensitive yet destructive technique.
  • Understanding MS principles is crucial for molecular analysis.
  • Further resources are available for detailed study of MS instrumentation and applications.