Tömegpontosság

Tömegpontosság, often translated as mass precision or mass accuracy, is a concept in analytical chemistry, particularly in mass spectrometry. It refers to the ability to accurately determine the mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of ions. High tömegpontosság is crucial for identifying unknown compounds and for confirming the identity of known substances by comparing their measured m/z values to theoretically calculated masses.

The precision of a mass measurement is typically expressed in parts per million (ppm). A lower ppm value indicates higher accuracy. For instance, a measurement with a tömegpontosság of 5 ppm means the measured mass is within 5 parts per million of the true mass. This level of precision is often achieved using high-resolution mass spectrometers such as time-of-flight (TOF) or Orbitrap analyzers.

Tömegpontosság is essential in various applications. In proteomics, it enables the precise identification of peptides and proteins from complex biological samples. In metabolomics, it aids in the discovery and identification of small molecules. Furthermore, it is vital in pharmaceutical research for drug discovery, impurity profiling, and quality control. Accurate mass measurements, powered by high tömegpontosság, allow for unambiguous elemental composition determination, distinguishing between isobaric compounds (molecules with the same nominal mass but different elemental compositions) and providing strong evidence for molecular formulas.