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 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...

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) is the combination of analytical techniques of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in a single instrument for analyzing a mixture of compounds. The gas chromatograph separates the compounds in the mixture, and the mass spectrometer analyzes each compound separately to determine the molecular masses and molecular structures.
A gas chromatograph consists of a long, narrow capillary column with a polysiloxane coating on the inner wall....

The role of the detectors in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is to analyze the solutes as they exit from the chromatographic column. The detector recognizes the solute's property and generates corresponding electrical signals, which are converted into a readable graph of the detector's response versus elution time called a chromatogram at the computer. There are several types of HPLC detectors, each with its own advantages and limitations, depending on the analyte...

Chromatography is a technique used to separate compounds based on differences of partitioning between two phases, the stationary phase and the mobile phase.
The phase in which the compounds linger or on which the compounds adsorb is called the stationary phase, whereas the mobile phase is the solvent that carries the solutes to be analyzed. In traditional column chromatography, the mixture flows through the stationary phase, and the compounds partition between the stationary and mobile phases...

Chromatographic techniques are classified in three ways: the classification is based on the physical state of the stationary and mobile phases, how the mobile phase and the stationary phase contact each other, or through the chemical or physical processes that isolate the components of the sample. Typically, the mobile phase is either a liquid or gas, while the stationary phase is either a solid or a liquid layer applied to a solid surface.
Chromatographic techniques are typically named by...