What causes fragmentation in mass spectrometry?

Fragmentation occurs when energetically unstable molecular atoms dissociate (either through homolytic or heterolytic cleavage) as they pass through the ionization chamber of a mass spectrometer.

What is the difference between EI and ESI?

EI normally belongs to GC-MS and means “electron impact”. In this case an electron is “injected” into the compound and the compound is broken into different mass ions which together give the MS spectrum. ESI belongs to LC-MS and means electro spray ionization.

Where does fragmentation occur?

Fragmentation is done by the network layer when the maximum size of datagram is greater than maximum size of data that can be held in a frame i.e., its Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU). The network layer divides the datagram received from the transport layer into fragments so that data flow is not disrupted.

How does fragmentation happen?

Fragmentation occurs on a hard drive, a memory module, or other media when data isn’t written closely enough physically on the drive. Those fragmented, individual pieces of data are referred to generally as fragments.

What is metastable peak?

A metastable peak is a peak on the mass spectrum generated by ions created from decay of metastable ions in flight.

What is the difference between hard and soft ionization?

Hard ionizers produce ions with a great deal of excess internal energy leading to fragmentation. Hard ionizers less likely to produce the molecular ion, M+. Soft ionizers produce considerably less fragment ions and are very likely to produce the molecular ion or a quasi molecular ion.

Why are ions fragmented for mass spectrometry?

This page looks at how fragmentation patterns are formed when organic molecules are fed into a mass spectrometer, and how you can get information from the mass spectrum. The origin of fragmentation patterns. The formation of molecular ions. When the vaporised organic sample passes into the ionisation chamber of a mass spectrometer, it is bombarded by a stream of electrons. These electrons have a high enough energy to knock an electron off an organic molecule to form a positive ion.

Why to ionise in mass spectrometry?

Why is it necessary to ionise molecules when measuring their mass in a TOF mass spectrometer? Ions will interact with and be accelerated by an electric field Only ions will create a current when hitting the detector

What are some disadvantages of mass spectrometry?

This gives the relative molecular mass of every molecule. The main disadvantage of mass spectrometry is that it is costly, need a skilled technician, and it is not a portable system. We will unable to differentiate among isomers of the molecule with the same charge-to-mass ratio. Chiral columns may be required to separate enantiomers.

What are the stages of a mass spectrometer?

Stage 1: Ionization: The atom is ionised by knocking one or more electrons off to give a positive ion.

  • Stage 2: Acceleration: The ions are accelerated so that they all have the same kinetic energy.
  • Stage 3: Deflection: The ions are then deflected by a magnetic field according to their masses.