Top 10 Mass Spectrometry Services

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a sensitive analysis technique that enables to detect, identify and quantify molecules of interest by measuring their mass and characterizing their chemical structure.

LC-MS_/MS system, © Kermit Murray via_Wikimedia Commons

During the MS procedure, the sample is ionized which results in breaking the molecules into charged fragments called ions. Then the ions undergo a gas phase separation according to their mass-charge ratio (m/z). The atoms or molecules present in the sample can be identified by correlating their identified mass to known masses.

Mass spectrometry has applications in practically all scientific fields: physics, astrophysics, gas phase chemistry, organic chemistry, dosages, biology, medicine, etc.

Mass spectrometry in proteomics

In proteomics, mass spectrometry is applied to characterize and sequence proteins. Over the last decades, it has become an indispensable technique. Its development over the last decades has led to three fundamental applications: determining protein interaction, categorizing protein expression and locating protein modification.

Mass spectrometry in pharmacology

In pharmacology, mass spectrometry is applied for drug discovery to determine the structure of drugs and metabolites and for screening metabolites in biological systems.

Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS)

Tandem mass spectrometry involves a tandem mass spectrometer. The sample undergoes ionization and mass-charge ratio separation in the first stage of mass spectrometry (MS1). Then, selected ions of the articular mass-charge ratio are fragmented to generate product ions for detection in the second stage of mass spectrometry (MS2).

Tandem mass spectrometry gives additional information about the selected ions. It is typically applied to sequence proteins and oligonucleotides because the fragments analyzed can be compared to peptides or nucleic acid sequences found in databases such as RefSeq or UniProt.

Gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, and HPLC are separations techniques commonly used before a mass spectrometry analysis.

It often takes time to find the CRO which corresponds to your MS needs. Here you can find a selection of services which can be useful for you.