European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY (LC-MS) - AN UPDATE

Dhananjayan R.* Pavithra V.

ABSTRACT

Mass Spectrometry (MS) is an important analytical tool for molecular research and used around the globe to identify, quantify and characterize biomolecules like proteins from any number of biological conditions or sample types. As instrumentation is advanced and with the coupling of Liquid Chromatography (LC) for high-throughput, Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), a proteomics experiment measuring hundreds to thousands of proteins/protein groups is now commonplace. Chromatography is a separation technique used to separate the individual compound from a mixture using a stationary and mobile phase. Discovery of chromatography is a milestone event in biomedical research. Chromatographic separation is based on the principles of adsorption, partition, ion exchange, molecular exclusion, affinity and Chirality. There are many types of chromatography available for quantitative and qualitative analysis of pharmaceutical agents, which includes LC-MS. It is now a routine technique with the development of electrospray ionisation (ESI) providing a simple and robust interface. The main objective of this review is to overview the principle, applications and various studies done using of LC-MS.

Keywords: Mass Spectrometry, Chromatography, Analytical Technique, Tandem Mass Spectrometry