CONTINUOUS-FLOW FAST-ATOM-BOMBARDMENT MASS-SPECTROMETRY

This chapter discusses continuos-flow fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry has been used extensively in the past for the analysis of compounds of biological origin because it provides a means for ionizing molecules that are polar and/or charged without prior derivatization. The fact that this is done with a liquid sample droplet provides an ease of use which has greatly contributed to its widespread acceptance. Continuous-flow FAB (CF-FAB) mass spectrometry was devised to eliminate or diminish some of the major difficulties with the std-FAB technique while retaining the essential advantages of this bombardment ionization process. For biochemists, the utility of CF-FAB is that it effectively allows the direct analysis of compounds dissolved in water by mass spectrometry. This is accomplished while retaining the specific utility of FAB for producing mass spectra from relatively large and polar molecules. This direct analysis of aqueous solutions eliminates the very time-consuming preparation methods formerly employed where the compound of interest had to be extracted or otherwise isolated and put through derivatization steps to render it amenable to mass spectrometric analysis. © 1990, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.