Description
Mass spectrometry (MS) involves four basic steps: ionization, ion separation by a mass analyzer, detection, and data processing and analysis. In modern mass spectrometers, these steps are managed by computer software. Following ionization, analytes are transmitted into the vacuum chamber of the mass spectrometer. Here, the mass analyzer separates the ions based on their mass-to-charge ratios (m/z). The The detector generates a signal representative of ion abundance at specific values of m/z, and this signal is processed and recorded by computer software by a detector and the resulting signal is measured and recorded by computer software.
Using certain MS technologies, tandem MS can be performed by isolating and imparting precursor ions with internal energy to cause dissociation, resulting in fragment ions which are then measured as a MS/MS fragment ion spectrum. Tandem MS is often abbreviated as MS/MS or MS2. Additionally, specific MS/MS product ions can be isolated and dissociated into a higher order product ion spectrum (referred to as MS3). This process can be repeated to obtain additional levels of MS (referred to as MSn). When combined with chromatography, such as liquid, ion, or gas chromatography, MS and MSn are powerful analytical tools for compound identification and quantitation.
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