The Great Thing About Mass Spectrometry

New innovations in mass spectrometry are constantly changing what the analytical scientist can see. The Agilent IM-MS system 6560 Ion Mobility Q-TOF LC/MS is unique in that it contains a low field drift tube design that allows the direct calculation of collision cross section of a molecule. Additionally, there is a trapping funnel prior to the drift tube that researchers have recently begun to use for exploring chemistry such as ozonolysis of lipids (figure in header from Online ozonolysis combined with ion mobility-mass spectrometry provides a new platform for lipid isomer analyses Anal Chem. 2018 January 16; 90(2): 1292–1300). Another recent pub. Determining Double Bond Position in Lipids Using Online Ozonolysis Coupled to Liquid Chromatography and Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry. This technique allows for the separation of isobaric lipids in the drift cell and identification of the double bound by MS/MS.

The great thing about mass spectrometry is that it is constantly evolving as researchers find cool new ways to solve tough challenges. What was difficult or impossible to do yesterday becomes possible today.