Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Technique to Access the Information beyond the Molecular Weight of the Analyte

The Electrospray Ionization (ESI) is a soft ionization technique extensively used for production of gas phase ions (without fragmentation) of thermally labile large supramolecules. In the present review we have described the development of Electrospray Ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) during th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shibdas Banerjee, Shyamalava Mazumdar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:International Journal of Analytical Chemistry
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/282574
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Electrospray Ionization (ESI) is a soft ionization technique extensively used for production of gas phase ions (without fragmentation) of thermally labile large supramolecules. In the present review we have described the development of Electrospray Ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) during the last 25 years in the study of various properties of different types of biological molecules. There have been extensive studies on the mechanism of formation of charged gaseous species by the ESI. Several groups have investigated the origin and implications of the multiple charge states of proteins observed in the ESI-mass spectra of the proteins. The charged analytes produced by ESI can be fragmented by activating them in the gas-phase, and thus tandem mass spectrometry has been developed, which provides very important insights on the structural properties of the molecule. The review will highlight recent developments and emerging directions in this fascinating area of research.
ISSN:1687-8760
1687-8779