In-class characterization of synthetic products in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory using ambient ionization mass spectrometry

While mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool, it often requires well-trained operators and complex and time-consuming sample preparation. However, deploying mass spectrometry in teaching-laboratory environments enables time-resolved, near-real-time chemical characterization while aligning with sustainable and eco-friendly practices. Wire desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (WD-ESI/MS), an ambient ionization mass spectrometric (AIMS) technique, enables the rapid characterization of organic compounds at ambient conditions with minimal sample preparation, making it a promising tool for rapid, in-class characterization in teaching laboratories with minimal sample preparation. In this work, WD‑ESI/MS was implemented in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory setting to characterize the synthetic product of an aldol condensation reaction. We streamlined the analytical workflow to enable rapid, high-throughput characterization of reaction products in real time within a laboratory period while avoiding complex sample preparation and generating minimal waste. The time required to complete each analysis was less than 1 min, and we demonstrated the robustness of the technique via reproducibility and repeatability tests. Our results indicate that AIMS is a sustainable, low-waste analytical approach for real-time reaction monitoring that can be deployed in teaching laboratories to provide rapid analytical readouts with minimal sample preparation.