The liquid chromatography mass spectrometer combines liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to separate a sample into its chemical components and determine their mass. It is highly sensitive and used in pharmaceutical research and forensic toxicology. The sample is separated by passing it through a column containing a stationary phase substance, and the separated material is then passed through an ultraviolet light and detected for its absorbance. The particles are further analyzed using the mass spectrometer, which ionizes them and separates them by mass. The liquid chromatography mass spectrometer is useful for analyzing complex organic samples and identifying fragile samples.
A liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (LC-MS) is a device used in analytical chemistry to determine the content of a sample substance. It does this by combining two different techniques: liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The first of these techniques, liquid chromatography, is used to separate the sample into its chemical components. Mass spectrometry is then used to gather information about the mass of each component. The liquid chromatography mass spectrometer can give highly sensitive readings and has uses in many different fields, including pharmaceutical research and forensic toxicology.
Liquid chromatography is the first technique employed by the liquid chromatography mass spectrometer. The sample solution, which is in a liquid phase, is drained through a column containing a stationary phase substance, such as a porous solid. As the different types of particles in the sample solution pass through the stationary phase at different rates, they separate into bands.
The separation in the column can take place in different ways. If the molecules of one substance are larger than the molecules of another, they take longer to drain through a porous material and then separate from the smaller, faster-moving molecules. Chemical factors can also affect the flow rate. For example, polar molecules, those that have a partial electric charge, may be attracted to the stationary phase charge and become “sticky,” flowing less rapidly through the column.
The liquid chromatography mass spectrometer passes each band of separated material through an ultraviolet light and detects its absorbance. In other words, it records how much light and what wavelengths of light the substance absorbs. This information can often be used to identify a substance. In cases where more data is needed, the particles can be further analyzed using the mass spectrometer portion of the device.
Particles that have been separated by type in the liquid chromatography step are separated by mass in the mass spectrometry step. First, particles are ionized, or charged, by removing electrons, giving them an overall positive charge. A magnetic field is then used to “bend” the path of the charged particle as it passes through the device. Particles with higher mass don’t move as easily as lighter, smaller particles, so they aren’t deflected as far. The mass spectrometer electrically records how much of each type of particle successfully reaches the detector.
The advantage of the liquid chromatography mass spectrometer is that it can record, with great sensitivity, the type and mass of each chemical component in a sample. It is often used to analyze complex organic samples in drug research and proteomics, the study of proteins. The liquid chromatography mass spectrometer has even been perfected for use in forensic toxicology, to analyze and identify samples that are otherwise too fragile to study.
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