Question: what does mass spectrometry do?

Mark Collins answered on 6 Nov 2015:

Hi, very good question! Mass Spectrometry is a technique we use to look at the mass of a range of chemicals, we can separate that chemical from all the other chemicals first using some chromatography. The small/light chemicals will get through “the door” first and the bigger heavier last. When through this door. We spray the each of the chemicals with electrons to break it into fragments. The fragments will fly and the heavier ones will not go far, the lighter ones will go along way, this is good as I can then bend them using a big magnet. We focus these fragments on to a detector where we can see what these fragments are and like a giant jigsaw I piece together what I see and ensure what we think we are making, we are making and to ensure patients get the best medicine every time! There are lots of different types of mass spectrometers and some can use Lasers, others use a flame called a plasma that is hotter than the surface of the sun! I can use all these techniques to ensure the medicine you receive is right at all times.