Mass spectrometry involves ionizing chemical compounds to generate charged molecules or molecule fragments, which are then measured to determine their mass-to-charge ratio. The process involves three major steps: ionization, mass analysis, and detection.
1. Ionization: Molecules are ionized using techniques like Electron Impact Ionization (EI), Electrospray Ionization (ESI), or Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI).
2. Mass Analysis: The ions are separated based on their mass-to-charge ratio using analyzers such as Time-of-Flight (TOF), Quadrupole, or Orbitrap.
3. Detection: The separated ions are detected, and their abundance is measured to generate a mass spectrum.
