logo
AAT Bioquest

What are the principles of mass spectroscopy?

Posted August 19, 2022


Answer

The main principles of mass spectroscopy are to split electromagnetic radiation into smaller fragments and have them pass through a magnetic field. The charged particles get deflected in the magnetic field, and their degree of deflection is proportional to their mass-to-charge ratio. Lastly, the particles are captured by a detector, such as the microchannel PMT. Modern spectroscopy uses diffraction grating to scatter light, which is then put onto charge-coupled devices. 2D spectra are taken from the digital format and converted to produce an abundant amount of 1D spectra data. Spectroscopy’s principles also  include assisting in studying the interactions between particles like electrons, ions, and protons, as well as their involvement in collision energy with other molecules.

Additional resources

Mass Spectroscopy

Antibody and Protein Labeling