| definition |
Study of matter through the formation of gas-phase ions that are characterized using
mass spectrometers by their mass, charge, structure, and/or physico-chemical properties.
(Source: IUPAC; https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-06-04-06). Atomic mass spectrometric
analysis involves: (1) atomization, (2) conversion of a substantial fraction of the
atoms formed in step 1 to a stream of ions (usually singly charged positive ions),
(3) separating the ions formed in step 2 on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio
(m/z), where m is the mass number of the ion and z is the number of fundamental charges
that it bears, and (4) counting the number of ions of each type or measuring the ion
current produced when the ions formed from the sample strike a suitable transducer.
(Skoog, Holler & Crouch, p. 253). Molecular mass spectrometry is used to determine
the structures of inorganic, organic, and biological molecules and the qualitative
and quantitative composition of complex mixtures; The appearance of mass spectra for
a given molecular species strongly depends on the method used for ion formation. That
these methods fall into three major categories: gas-phase sources, desorption sources,
and ambient desorption sources. (Skoog, Holler & Crouch, p. 502)
|
|