Mass Spectrometry

At the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, Jacob Shelley of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute sat down with Spectroscopy to talk about the latest work he and his group are conducting.

NanoSIMS is a high-resolution imaging technique for the localization of almost all chemical elements on a surface.

Using single-cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SC-ICP-MS), scientists from Kanazawa, Japan created a new method for detecting cadmium in marine phytoplankton.

In a recent study, quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) was used to test the amount of deuterium atoms from aluminum layers.

Award recipient John McLean of Vanderbilt University said hybrid techniques do not exist purely as combinations of letters, slashes, and hyphens—they have been built on the shoulders of decades’ worth of analysis intended to refine and simplify workflow.

John A. McLean, Stevenson Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Chemistry, Associate Provost for Graduate Education, and Director of the Center for Innovative Technologies at Vanderbilt University, has been named the winner of the 2023 EAS Award for Outstanding Achievements in Mass Spectrometry.

A type of calcite whose name comes from a resource-rich basin in northwest China was earmarked as a promising reference material for laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in situ U–Pb dating.

On Tuesday October 10th from 3:50–5:30 pm, an oral session focusing on 50 years in mass spectrometry will take place. We preview this session here.

Earlier this year, Spectroscopy spoke to Maria Montes-Bayón of the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Oviedo (Asturias, Spain) regarding her work with single cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study the uptake and apoptotic status of nanoplatinum (IV) treated cells, specifically selenized yeast.

Glow discharge (GD) spectroscopy is a well-established method in the elemental analysis of metals, coatings, and surface-modified materials.

This year’s recipient of the Coblentz Award, Wei Xiong of the University of California, San Diego, is being honored for his work. Spectroscopy spoke to Xiong about his work and his feelings about receiving this award.

A recent study tests new systems meant to better analyze components in the semiconductor industry and pave the way for better electronic devices.

A new article reviews methods for determining trace elements in germanium and germanium dioxide, highlighting the advantages and limitations of methods with and without matrix separation procedures.

New research presents a fast and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of zinc and iron in vegetables and plant material using HR-CS GF-AAS.

Andreas Riedo of the Physics Institute at the University of Bern, the 2023 winner of the Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy Award, is using laser ablation–desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LIMS) to chemically analyze complex mineral surfaces found in space exploration.

In the past 20 years, spectrometers have shrunk dramatically in size, and this shrinking has been achieved with only modest performance reductions in sampling versatility, spectral range, spectral resolution, and signal-to-noise.

Our annual review of new products for atomic and molecular spectroscopy, including details by category and highlights of overarching trends.

Laser ablation laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LALI-TOF-MS) can quantify elemental constituents without the need for matrix-matching, making it attractive for metals testing, particularly for additive manufacturing.

Method development for ICP-MS/MS should not be difficult. The six steps here will guide you to success.

Accurate determination of the elemental composition of nickel-based alloys is essential, given their use in high-performance equipment. This XRF technique enables rapid and nondestructive detection, as an alternative to existing approaches.

How to create trouble-free sample preparation workflow for elemental analysis.

A tutorial and spreadsheet for the validation and uncertainty evaluation for ICP-MS analysis was successfully applied to determine multiple elements in a nasal spray.

The way the analytical signal is managed in ICP-MS has a direct impact on the results generated. In this first of a two-part series, we explain the fundamental principles of a scanning quadrupole and how measurement protocols can be optimized based on data quality objectives.

This article covers a portion of the analytical equipment and techniques used in the production of beer across the supply chain.

This study describes how interference-free, low-level analysis of toxic elements as well as major elements in particulate matter (PM), with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or smaller, can be accomplished. Comparison study examples are given for two locations.

A team of researchers at the University of Brighton in England used a combination of geochemical and statistical approaches to determine where Stonehenge’s sarsen (silcrete) megalith stones came from.

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with cold electron ionization (EI) is based on interfacing the GC and MS instruments with supersonic molecular beams (SMB) along with electron ionization of vibrationally cold sample compounds in SMB in a fly-through ion source (hence the name cold EI). GC–MS with cold EI improves all the central performance aspects of GC–MS. These aspects include enhanced molecular ions, improved sample identification, an extended range of compounds amenable for analysis, uniform response to all analytes, faster analysis, greater selectivity, and lower detection limits. In GC–MS with cold EI, the GC elution temperatures can be significantly lowered by reducing the column length and increasing the carrier gas flow rate. Furthermore, the injector temperature can be reduced using a high column flow rate, and sample degradation at the cold EI fly-through ion source is eliminated. Thus, a greater range of thermally labile and low volatility compounds can be analyzed. The extension of the range of compounds and applications amenable for analysis is the most important benefit of cold EI that bridges the gap with LC–MS. Several examples of GC–MS with cold EI applications are discussed including cannabinoids analysis, synthetic organic compounds analysis, and lipids in blood analysis for medical diagnostics.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of potentially thousands of synthetic compounds that have long been used in the manufacture of a variety of common products with stain-repellent and nonstick properties. Their signature strong fluorine and carbon bonds make them difficult to break down and, as a result, they are among the most persistent of today’s environmental pollutants. Alarmingly, PFAS can be found in drinking water and have been shown to accumulate in the body with the potential to cause multiple health problems, such as hormone disruption and cancer. Advances in mass spectrometry have facilitated the detection of known PFAS contaminants as well as the identification of poorly studied and novel compounds in watersheds. This article explores the detection of known and novel PFAS contaminants in aqueous film-forming foams and raw drinking water sources in North Carolina, using new advances in mass spectrometry and data acquisition to improve identification and quantitation.

Over the last decade, matrix-assisted laser desorption–ionization (MALDI) imaging has become an indispensable tool for a broad range of applications, from studying plant metabolomics to discovering biomarkers of disease to developing new therapies. As such, MALDI imaging is revolutionizing preclinical drug discovery pipelines by providing direct distribution monitoring of therapeutic compounds and their metabolites along with untargeted pharmacodynamic information. A key application of MALDI imaging is tissue analysis for oncology, and recent developments in MALDI technology promise greater benefits to cancer research. The combination of MALDI with laser-induced post-ionization (PI) enhances the detection and imaging of pharmaceutical compounds and other classes of compounds, allowing for significant advances in the use of MALDI imaging for studying drug metabolism and pharmacodynamics in tumor tissues. This article describes the value of MALDI Imaging for oncology applications and examines the potential for laser-induced PI, including the ability to achieve up to three orders of magnitude higher sensitivity and to image metabolite classes previously undetectable with traditional MALDI.

Long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) function as a source of metabolic energy, substrates for membrane biogenesis, and storage of metabolic energy. Oxylipins, oxygenated derivatives of LCFAs, regulate the activity of many cellular processes. Existing methods for the analysis of LCFAs and oxylipins have limited compound coverage and sensitivity that, therefore, prevent their application in biological studies. In this work, we developed a high-throughput LC–MS method for analysis of 51 LCFAs and oxylipins. LCFAs and oxylipins were first extracted from biological samples via solid-phase extraction. The extracted molecules were analyzed by targeted comparative metabolomics. Saturated and monounsaturated LCFAs were analyzed in single ion reaction mode, while polyunsaturated LCFAs and oxylipins were analyzed in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Using this method, we successfully quantified 31 LCFAs and oxylipins from mouse livers.