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UNIVERSITY OF ALLAHABAD
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
TOPIC-MASS SPECTROMETRY
INTRODUCTION
Mass spectrometry is a microanalytical technique requiring
only a few picomoles of the sample to obtain characteristic
information pertaining to the structure and molecular weight of
analyte.
It involves the production and separation of ionised molecules
and their ionic decomposition product and finally the
measurement of the relative abundance of different ions
produced.
It is, thus a destructive technique in that the sample is
consumed during analysis.
 The first mass spectrometer was developed in 1912 by J.J.
Thompson.
 The essential features of all mass spectrometers are therefore:
• production of ions in the gas phase;
• acceleration of the ions to a specific velocity in an electric field,
• separation of the ions in a mass analyser; and
• detection of each species of a particular m/z ratio.
PRINCIPLE
 It is based on the principle of ion generation, which is often
unstable and with the increase in energy (50-70eV) according
to bond strength, they break into fragments. Ions formed are
separated in analyser on the basis of their m/z( mass/charge)
ratio under the influence of electric and magnetic field and are
recorded by the detector to give rise a mass spectrum.
COMPONENTS OF MASS SPECTROMETER
• It mainly consists of following components:
1. Inlet System
2. Ion generation chamber
3. Mass Analyser
4. Detector
5. Data collection system
• A high vacuum system ( 10-6 torr) is required. All mass
analysers operate under vacuum in order to minimise the
collision between ions and air molecules.
IONISATION
Ions may be produced from a neutral molecule by removing an electron to
produce a positively charged cation, or by adding an electron to form an anion.
Electron impact ionisation Chemical Ionisation
Fast atom bombardment(FAB) Electrospray Ionisation(EI)
MALDI-TOF( Matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation- time of flight
MASS ANALYSER
Separates the ions on the basis of m/z ratio. In majority of instruments, a
particular type of ionisation is coupled to a particular mass analyser i.e., EI,CI
and FAB with magnetic sector analyser; ESI with quadrupole and MALDI with
TOF detection.
Magnetic sector mass analyser Quadrupole mass analyser
MAGNETIC SECTOR ANALYSER :-
TIME-OF-FLIGHT (TOF) :
The TOF is a mass analyzer that allows ions to flow down a field free region;
which allows the ions with a greater velocity, lighter ions, to hit the detectors
first.
The kinetic energy of an ion leaving a source is given by:
T = eV = mv2 /2 ……(i)
Where velocity v is defined by the length of the path divided by time:
v = L/t ; t = L/v …….(ii)
Substituting the value of v from eq. (i),
From the above eq. it is clear that mass is directly proportional to time, hence, an
ion of greater mass will strike the detector at a lower rate than ion of
comparatively smaller mass.
DETECTOR
 The ions from the mass analyser impinge on a surface of a detector where the
charge is neutralised, either by collection or donation of electrons.
 That leaves a space amongst the electrons in the metal, and the electrons in
the wire shuffle along to fill it.
 A flow of electrons in the wire is detected as an electric current that is
amplified and ultimately converted into a signal that is processed by a
computer.
 Electron multiplier are used as detectors for many types of MS. These are
frequently combined with a conversion dynode
CONVERSION DYNODE ELECTRON MULTIPLIER
TYPES OF PEAKS IN MS
• Molecular ion peak : When a molecule is bombarded with an electron of
9eV-15eV energy, the molecular ion is produced by loss of a single electron.
• Fragment ion peak : When an energy is given further more upto 70eV,
fragment ion is produced.
• Metastable ion peak : Ions resulting from the decomposition between the
source region and the analyser, are the metastable ion. These appear as broad
peak as metastable ion peaks.
• Multicharged ion: Peaks produced by the ions with 2 or 3 charges instead of
single charge is called as multicharged ion peak.
Data from MS showing different peaks
APPLICATIONS OF MS
• Elucidation of the structure of the organic and biological
molecules.
• Determination of molecular mass of peptides, proteins and
oligonucleotides.
• Analyses of aerosol particles.
• Determination of pesticide residues in food.
• Identification of drugs abuse and metabolites of drugs of abuse in
blood, urine and saliva.
COMPARISON OF MASS SPECTROMETRY AND EDMAN
DEGRADATION
S.No. Mass Spectrometry S.No. Edman Degradation
1. Protein characterization involves
confirmation of the N- and C-termini of the
protein of interest.
1. Characterization of the protein or peptide
from the amino terminus.
2. Proteins can be identified even after post-
translational modification.
2. It does not work if the N-terminus has been
chemically modified.
3. More sensitive as it requires small amount of
sample less than a picomole
3. Requires sample amount of at least 1
picomole or more than that.
4. Long peptides can be sequenced 4. Peptides sequenced cannot have more than
50-60 residues (better works with 30 amino
acid residues)
LIMITATIONS OF MS
 The sample subjected to MS cannot be recovered further.
 Cannot distinguish between isomers of a compound having the
same m/z ratio.