massianalüüs

Massianalüüs, often translated as mass analysis or mass spectrometry, is an analytical technique used to determine the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. It is a powerful tool employed across various scientific disciplines, including chemistry, physics, and biology, for identifying and quantifying unknown compounds, determining the elemental composition of materials, and elucidating the structure of molecules. The fundamental principle involves converting sample molecules into charged ions, separating these ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio, and then detecting them.

The process typically begins with ionization, where molecules are converted into ions using methods such as electron ionization, chemical ionization, or electrospray ionization. The resulting ions are then introduced into a mass analyzer, where they are subjected to electric and/or magnetic fields. These fields cause ions with different mass-to-charge ratios to follow different trajectories, effectively separating them. Common types of mass analyzers include quadrupole, time-of-flight, and magnetic sector analyzers. Finally, a detector measures the abundance of ions at each mass-to-charge ratio, generating a mass spectrum. This spectrum is a plot of ion abundance versus mass-to-charge ratio, providing a unique fingerprint for the analyzed substance. Massianalüüs is crucial for drug discovery, environmental monitoring, forensic science, and fundamental research.