masseselektrometri

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. It is a powerful tool for identifying and quantifying unknown compounds, determining the elemental composition of materials, and elucidating the structure of molecules. The fundamental principle involves ionizing a sample, separating the resulting ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio, and then detecting them.

The process typically begins with ionization, where neutral atoms or molecules are converted into charged ions. Various ionization methods exist, such as electron ionization, chemical ionization, and electrospray ionization, each suited for different types of samples. Once ionized, the ions are accelerated into a mass analyzer. Different types of mass analyzers, including quadrupole, time-of-flight, and magnetic sector analyzers, employ different physical principles to separate ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio. Finally, a detector registers the abundance of ions at each mass-to-charge ratio, producing a mass spectrum. This spectrum is a plot of ion abundance versus mass-to-charge ratio and serves as a unique fingerprint for the analyzed substance. Mass spectrometry finds widespread applications in fields such as chemistry, biology, medicine, environmental science, and forensics.