joukkomittaus

Joukkomittaus, also known as mass spectrometry, is an analytical technique used to identify the amount and type of chemicals present in a sample. It works by ionizing chemical compounds to generate charged molecules or molecule fragments and measuring their mass-to-charge ratios. These ions are then separated according to their mass-to-charge ratios and detected by a sensor, such as an electron multiplier in early designs or more recently a microchannel plate detector. The results are displayed as a mass spectrum, which is a plot of the ion signal as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio.

Mass spectrometry is widely used in various fields, including chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and environmental science. It is particularly useful for identifying unknown compounds, determining the structure and properties of known compounds, and quantifying the amount of a specific compound in a mixture. Mass spectrometry can be performed using different ionization techniques, such as electron ionization, chemical ionization, and electrospray ionization, each suited for different types of samples and analytical requirements.

In recent years, mass spectrometry has seen significant advancements, including the development of high-resolution mass spectrometers and tandem mass spectrometry, which allows for the fragmentation of ions and the analysis of the resulting fragments. These advancements have expanded the capabilities of mass spectrometry, making it an even more powerful tool for analytical chemistry.