---
title: "Mass spectrometry"
chunk: 8/8
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_spectrometry"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:41:40.120732+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Mass spectrometry is an important method for the characterization and sequencing of proteins. The two primary methods for ionization of whole proteins are electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI). In keeping with the performance and mass range of available mass spectrometers, two approaches are used for characterizing proteins. In the first, intact proteins are ionized by either of the two techniques described above, and then introduced to a mass analyzer. This approach is referred to as "top-down" strategy of protein analysis.  The top-down approach however is largely limited to low-throughput single-protein studies. In the second, proteins are enzymatically digested into smaller peptides using proteases such as trypsin or pepsin, either in solution or in gel after electrophoretic separation. Other proteolytic agents are also used. The collection of peptide products are often separated by chromatography prior to introduction to the mass analyzer. When the characteristic pattern of peptides is used for the identification of the protein the method is called peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF), if the identification is performed using the sequence data determined in tandem MS analysis it is called de novo peptide sequencing. These procedures of protein analysis are also referred to as the "bottom-up" approach, and have also been used to analyse the distribution and position of post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation on proteins. A third approach is also beginning to be used, this intermediate "middle-down" approach involves analyzing proteolytic peptides that are larger than the typical tryptic peptide.

=== Space exploration ===

As a standard method for analysis, mass spectrometers have reached other planets and moons. Two were taken to Mars by the Viking program. In early 2005 the Cassini–Huygens mission delivered a specialized GC-MS instrument aboard the Huygens probe through the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn. This instrument analyzed atmospheric samples along its descent trajectory and was able to vaporize and analyze samples of Titan's frozen, hydrocarbon covered surface once the probe had landed. These measurements compare the abundance of isotope(s) of each particle comparatively to earth's natural abundance. Also on board the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft was an ion and neutral mass spectrometer which had been taking measurements of Titan's atmospheric composition as well as the composition of Enceladus' plumes. A Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer mass spectrometer was carried by the Mars Phoenix Lander launched in 2007.
Mass spectrometers are also widely used in space missions to measure the composition of plasmas. For example, the Cassini spacecraft carried the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS), which measured the mass of ions in Saturn's magnetosphere.

=== Respired gas monitor ===
Mass spectrometers were used in hospitals for respiratory gas analysis beginning around 1975 through the end of the century. Some are probably still in use but none are currently being manufactured.
Found mostly in the operating room, they were a part of a complex system, in which respired gas samples from patients undergoing anesthesia were drawn into the instrument through a valve mechanism designed to sequentially connect up to 32 rooms to the mass spectrometer. A computer directed all operations of the system. The data collected from the mass spectrometer was delivered to the individual rooms for the anesthesiologist to use.
The uniqueness of this magnetic sector mass spectrometer may have been the fact that a plane of detectors, each purposely positioned to collect all of the ion species expected to be in the samples, allowed the instrument to simultaneously report all of the gases respired by the patient. Although the mass range was limited to slightly over 120 u, fragmentation of some of the heavier molecules negated the need for a higher detection limit.

=== Preparative mass spectrometry ===
The primary function of mass spectrometry is as a tool for chemical analyses based on detection and quantification of ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio. However, mass spectrometry also shows promise for material synthesis. Ion soft landing is characterized by deposition of intact species on surfaces at low kinetic energies which precludes the fragmentation of the incident species. The soft landing technique was first reported in 1977 for the reaction of low energy sulfur containing ions on a lead surface.

=== Charge detection mass spectrometry ===
Most mass spectrometers measure the mass-to-charge ratio; the actual mass can be found only if the charge is known. For smaller molecules the charge can be determined from the spacing of isotope peaks, but for very large biomolecules and particles (in the megadalton range) resolution may not be adequate to separate isotope peaks, and thus the mass cannot be determined. In charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS), the charge of an individual ion/particle is measured directly (alongside its mass-to-charge ratio) and therefore the true mass is known. It is a single-particle technique, but to produce more precise and accurate results, the data from many individually-measured ions can be combined.

== See also ==

== References ==

== Bibliography ==

== External links ==

Interactive tutorial on mass spectra National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Mass spectrometer simulation An interactive application simulating the console of a mass spectrometer
Realtime Mass Spectra simulation Tool to simulate mass spectra in the browser