Mass spectrometry- A review

The mass spectrometer is an instrument that can measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules.It is also an analytical technique that identifies the chemical composition of a compound or sample based on the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles.A mass spectrometer has three essential modules, an ion source-which transforms the molecules in a sample into ionized fragments, a mass analyser-which sorts the ions by their masses by applying electro-magnetic field and a detector-which measures the value of some indicator quantity and thus provides data for calculating the abundances each ion fragment present The technique has both qualitative and quantitative uses.Mass spectrometers are sensitive detectors of isotopes based on their masses.They are used in carbon dating and other radioactive dating processes.The combination of a mass spectrometer and a gas chromatograph makes a powerful tool for the detection of trace quantities of contaminants or toxins.A number of satellites and spacecraft have mass spectrometers for the identification of the small numbers of particles intercepted in space Mass spectrometry is an important tool for characterization of proteins.Pharmacokinetics is often studied using mass spectrometry because of the complex nature of the matrix (often blood or urine.Mass spectrometers are used for the analysis of residual gases in high vacuum systems.