There are numerous applications for mass spectrometry, including both qualitative and quantitative uses. Mass spectrometry is most commonly used in analytical laboratories for the study of physical, chemical, or biological properties of compounds.
Additional applications of mass spectrometry:
- Identifying unknown compounds
- Determining the isotopic composition of elements in a molecule
- Determining the structure of a compound based on fragmentation
- Quantifying the amount of a compound in a sample
- Understanding the fundamentals of gas phase ion chemistry
This makes mass spectrometry an ideal tool in drug discovery, clinical testing, genomics, geology and environmental studies on food and soil. Among the many applications in medicine and genomics, mass spectrometry can be used for the characterization of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as in rapid toxic screenings for detecting toxins in blood.