What is the meaning of mass spectrometry?
mass spectrometry, also called mass spectroscopy, analytic technique by which chemical substances are identified by the sorting of gaseous ions in electric and magnetic fields according to their mass-to-charge ratios.
Where is mass spectrometry used?
Specific applications of mass spectrometry include drug testing and discovery, food contamination detection, pesticide residue analysis, isotope ratio determination, protein identification, and carbon dating.
What is an example of mass spectrometry?
The Rapid Toxic Screen used by the CDC, or Centers for Disease Control, is an example of mass spectrometry, and it can detect chemical agents in blood and urine that are often used in terrorism, like cyanides or deadly nerve toxins.
What is a mass spectrometer and how does it work?
A mass spectrometer can measure the mass of a molecule only after it converts the molecule to a gas-phase ion. To do so, it imparts an electrical charge to molecules and converts the resultant flux of electrically charged ions into a proportional electrical current that a data system then reads.
How is mass spectrometry used in drug testing?
Mass spectrometry (MS) is the most discriminatory of the drug testing techniques. Mass spectrometry measures the precise molecular mass of ions as determined by their mass to charge ratio (m/z) and is the current gold standard in forensic drug analysis [17].
What is the purpose of mass spectrometry?
Mass spectrometry is an analytical tool useful for measuring the mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of one or more molecules present in a sample. These measurements can often be used to calculate the exact molecular weight of the sample components as well.
What is a mass spectrometer used for in forensics?
Mass spectrometry – an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions and, in forensic science, one of the best ways for toxicologists to identify and analyse substances. As a result, its widest application is in the analysis of drugs (including drug metabolites and drug paraphernalia).
What does a mass spectrometer do?
What is a mass spectrometer for dummies?
A mass spectrometer can help you locate unknown ions in the mass spectrum so that you can identify them. When charged particles move through the magnetic field of a mass spectrometer, they’re deflected (pulled off course) by the magnetic field; they then hit the detector, as the first figure shows.
What is the medical definition of mass spectrometry?
Medical Definition of mass spectrometry. : an instrumental method for identifying the chemical constitution of a substance by means of the separation of gaseous ions according to their differing mass and charge. — called also mass spectroscopy. Other Words from mass spectrometry. mass spectrometric adjective.
What are the instruments used in mass spectrometry?
Mass spectrometry, also called mass spectroscopy, analytic technique by which chemical substances are identified by the sorting of gaseous ions in electric and magnetic fields according to their mass-to-charge ratios. The instruments used in such studies are called mass spectrometers and mass spectrographs,…
When did mass spectrometry become part of scientific vocabulary?
The word spectrograph had become part of the international scientific vocabulary by 1884. Early spectrometry devices that measured the mass-to-charge ratio of ions were called mass spectrographs which consisted of instruments that recorded a spectrum of mass values on a photographic plate.
How does mass spectrometry work at different deflections?
Mass Spectrometry Detectors At different deflections a detector counts the number of ions. The data are plotted as a graph or continuum of various masses. Detectors function by recording the induced charge or current generated by an ion hitting or passing through a surface.