STRATEGIES IN DEVELOPING INTERFACES FOR COUPLING LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY AND MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Considerable progress has been made over the last 20 years in coupling liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. A large number of interfaces have been developed and, although only a few have found widespread application, the developments in interfacing are worth reviewing. The developments in interfacing are categorized along three lines: efforts to introduce 1 ml/min of an aqueous mobile phase into the mass spectrometer vacuum system, efforts to achieve analyte enrichment in the interface and efforts to combine interfacing and liquid-based soft ionization techniques. These lines are explored, with special attention being given to the most successful interfaces. Some similarities between the various interfaces are revealed.