Special Issues-07-01-2019

Click the title above to open the Current Trends In Mass Spectrometry July 2019 special issue in an interactive PDF format.

In the pharmaceutical industry, the use of mass spectrometry in high-throughput experimentation (HTE) has increased, thanks to the technique’s speed, sensitivity, and selectivity. We systematically evaluate the applicability of multiple MS techniques for different types of HTE samples and purposes, reviewing the pros and cons, and provide practical recommendations, Illustrated by application case studies.

Glycan isomer expressions have not been well studied, due to inefficient separation and structural identification techniques. Fortunately, with the development of novel separation techniques and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) based glycan isomer identification strategies, new efforts have been made to investigate the glycan isomers in various diseases. Here, we review the recent advances of several isomeric separation techniques for both N- and O-linked glycans.

The development of analytical instrumentation for harsh terrestrial environments and outer planet space exploration exponentially increases instrument requirements-for features such as robustness, autonomous operation, and speed-and poses unique system integration challenges. Here, we explore the use of laser thermal desorption coupled to comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (LTD-GC×GC) for use with a compact, high-resolution mass spectrometer for challenging applications.