Principles and applications of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Plenary lecture

Abstract

In the past decade, much progress has been made in the development of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. This method is nowadays increasingly used in both basic and applied research studies. Following a description of the basic principles of the method, its performance with respect to mass resolving power and accurate ion mass and ion abundance measurements is discussed. It is then shown that the method permits either collision-induced fragmentation or photo-dissociation experiments on mass-selected ions. In this mass selection a relatively high so-called front-end resolution can be achieved, while a high to ultra-high back-end mass resolution can also be obtained for the product ions formed from the mass-selected ions on collision-induced fragmentation or photo-dissociation. Finally, the development is discussed, of dual cell and external ion source Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, which has allowed the use of ionization techniques known to be suited for the analysis of non-volatile or thermally labile compounds, and the coupling of this mass spectrometric method with separation techniques such as gas chromatography.