Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry plays an increasingly significant role in the analysis of residues and contaminants in food. Here we will illustrate how the combination of ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and high-resolution time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) is used to generate a screen of veterinary drug residues in products of animal origin. The use of UHPLC–TOF-MS and dedicated, workflow directed software allows rapid screening for large numbers of residues and automated quantification of positive samples. In addition, we illustrate how the data generated using MSE acquisition mode enable critical structural information to be collected, which offers additional selectivity and confirmatory data for compound identification and facilitates elucidation of the structure of newly discovered compounds.

The analysis of amines by gas chromatograph ;mass spectrometry (GC–MS) using electron ionization (EI) has always been a challenge

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC–MS) using electrospray ionization (ESI) is a powerful analytical tool for the analysis of a wide molecular weight range of polar, semivolatile, and thermally labile compounds.

Accurate, sensitive, and comprehensive characterization of monoclonal antibodies is an absolute necessity to the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries to meet regulatory requirements and ensure the efficacy and safety of the final product. Microfluidic chip-based high performance liquid chromatography technology interfaced with the mass accuracy of quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry provides the ability to rapidly and efficiently assess the quality of intact monoclonal antibodies, confirm their amino acid sequence, and determine their glycosylation state, while consuming very small amounts of these precious products.

Two-dimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCÃ-GC–TOF-MS) analysis has emerged as one of the technologies of choice for the analysis of small metabolite profiles. The results of these analyses produce substantial quantities of data that can be extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive for the analyst to interpret. New software provides a tool for the scientist to use as a data-mining strategy to find significant results from large, complex data sets. This proof of concept research was conducted using comprehensive GCÃ-GC–TOF-MS to elucidate the small-molecule metabolite profiles of diabetic and nondiabetic urine in search of key differences between disease-state and nondisease-state individuals.

According to the Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG), techniques with the highest discriminating power should preferentially be used for forensic identification of seized drugs.

A prerequisite for a successful biotherapeutic formulation is one where the protein is stable and correctly folded.

Columnist Kenneth L. Busch discusses some of the basic considerations for valid sampling, with some examples pertinent to mass spectrometry.

NASA scientists have detected the amino acid glycine in samples of the comet Wild 2 gathered by the spacecraft Stardust.

The development of a method for the simultaneous determination of glycine, triglycine and fructose using UV–vis and evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD) is described. This was necessary as part of a research project dealing with the recovery of functional peptides from aqueous streams on an industrial scale using adsorption or related technologies. Fructose is barely detectable by UV–vis as it lacks detectable functionalities, while glycine and triglycine are both UV–vis sensitive. An NH2 phase was chosen as a column and separation was obtained within seven minutes on a 250 X 4.6 mm column. Limits of detection are approximately 40 mg fructose/L, 4 mg glycine/L and 0.05 mg triglycine/L. Calibration functions are linear in a range of 40–1400 mg/L for fructose, 5–200 mg/L for glycine and 0.5–70 mg/L for triglycine.

The authors discuss improvements in sample preparation for ADME/pharmacokinetic studies of therapeutic oligonucleotides.

In this article, the authors review the capabilities and challenges of deploying mass spectrometry (MS) to homeland security screening requirements.

This article presents an efficient analytical workflow for protein characterization using LC–MS.

The authors continue their discussion of the role of the analysis of fragment ions in the interpretation of an analyte's mass spectrum.

In this article, the authors discuss the advantages of using a microbore UHPLC system coupled with a tandem mass spectrometer for the quantitation of in vivo pharmacokinetic samples.

The authors discuss a noninvasive method for determining early indications of the rejection of a kidney transplant.

The 57th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 31 through June 4, 2009.

The author discusses the use of high-performance mass spectrometry for small molecule and protein applications.

The authors discuss analytical methods for lipidomics.

A structured, general purpose approach to method development for bioanalytical hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC–MS-MS) applications is described.

The authors discuss the use of high-resolution LC-MS to analyze complex samples in regulated environments such as food and animal-feed analysis.

The authors discuss the use of GC-MS in drug doping testing.

The authors discuss the use of electron ionization to determine a compound's structure.

Current Trends in Mass Spectrometry Goes Global

An oft-overlooked segment of the mass spectrometry market is time-of-flight LC–MS. Although LC-TOF does not possess the capabilities of more expensive mass spectrometry techniques, it fills an important price-to-performance segment of the market. The trickling down of technology and heavy competition are contributing to a strong market outlook for the area.