Mass Spectrometry

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.

Liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) is used in combination with a comprehensive data analysis workflow to screen water samples for potentially hazardous transformation products from organic micropollutants to determine the efficacy of different water treatment methods.

When explosives are encountered on the battlefield, the use of portable GC–MS is valuable for the detection and confirmatory identification of pre- and post-detonation threats. In addition, this technique provides information about the source of explosives based on the detection and identification of trace-level chemicals in the sample. The data presented here confirm this capability.

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), with the use of ammonium acetate buffer, can be coupled on-line to electrospray ionization MS for the characterization of size variants of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). A quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) MS system was employed, and the MS method was optimized to achieve favorable sensitivity for high-mass detection, while maintaining the structural integrity of the aggregates (or high molecular weight species) and fragments (or low molecular weight species).

Food quality differences are dependent on botanical and geographical origins of primary food ingredients as well as storage and handling. Quality assessment for food materials, including cocoa and olive oil, is demonstrated by applying two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) and pattern recognition.

Drug discovery using high-throughput screening of discreet compounds, and the discovery of natural products with pharmacological mechanisms of action, rely on bioassay-guided fractionation analysis. Recent applications of affinity selection–mass spectrometry (AS-MS) are useful for exploring the discovery of ligands to membrane-bound proteins and RNA targets.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are found in firefighting foams and consumer products. They are ubiquitous in the environment and are an emerging human health concern. This work compares the 2009 and 2018 revised US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) LC–MS/MS methods of analysis for PFAS in drinking water.

In the human food supply, public confidence is affected by contaminants and misreporting of nutritional information. This article highlights three events that required development of new mass spectrometry methods, including the detection of pesticides (such as fipronil and glyphosate), and the detection and quantification of fat-soluble vitamins.

In late-stage pharmaceutical development a new generation of high-resolution mass spectrometers and ion mobility mass spectrometers operate as orthogonal separation techniques and have greatly increased the ability to resolve impurities and increase the level of analytical information gained from a single analysis.

In this study, atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) is compared to the default ionization method, electrospray ionization (ESI), for solution-phase samples. These mass spectrometry methods are compared and optimized relative to artificial wastewater for the detection and quantitation of pharmaceuticals frequently found as environmental contaminants.

An arsenic speciation method using LA–ICP-MS was developed to provide a more accurate procedure for the determination of arsenic species in marine oils. It was validated for the analysis of five arsenic species in krill oil, and should also prove useful when quantitating inorganic arsenic species in other marine oils.

Method setup and optimization steps are explored to illustrate how an ICP-MS/MS method can be defined and tested to ensure consistent performance. Users can benefit from improved interference removal performance without the complex method development inherent in the use of ion-molecule reaction chemistry

A simple analytical method, requiring no sample pretreatment, was developed for determination of chromium, iron, nickel, and zinc in mouthwash by inductively coupled plasma‒optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). This method allowed the study of potential migration by iron, chromium, and nickel from stainless steel containers.

Our annual review of products introduced at Pittcon or during the previous year