Overview

In tandem mass spectrometry a biomolecule of interest is isolated from a biological sample, and then fragmented into multiple subunits in order to help elucidate its composition and sequence. This is accomplished by having mass spectrometers in series. The first spectrometer ionizes a sample and filter ions of a specific mass to charge ratio. Filtered ions are then fragmented and passed to a second mass spectrometer where the fragments are analyzed.

This video introduces the principles of tandem mass spectrometry, including mass-to-ratio selection and dissociation methods. Also shown is a general procedure for analyzing a biochemical compound using tandem mass spectrometry with collision-induced dissociation. The applications section covers selection reaction monitoring, determination of protein post-translation modifications, and detection of tacrolimus levels in blood.

Procedure

In tandem mass spectrometry a biomolecule of interest is isolated from a biological sample, and then fragmented into multiple subunits in order to help elucidate its composition and sequence. This is accomplished by having mass spectrometers in series. The first spectrometer ionizes a sample and filter ions of a specific mass to charge ratio. Filtered ions are then fragmented and passed to a second mass spectrometer where the fragments are analyzed.

This video introduces the principles of tandem mass spectrometry, including mass-to-ratio selection and dissociation methods. Also shown is a general procedure for analyzing a biochemical compound using tandem mass spectrometry with collision-induced dissociation. The applications section covers selection reaction monitoring, determination of protein post-translation modifications, and detection of tacrolimus levels in blood.