Biologists entering liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) from a background of general LC rarely use their mass spectrometer to its full potential. Isotope peaks offer huge possibilities both in semi-quantitative interpretation of structure and in quantitative labelling studies. This article examines charge state, "easy" isotopes, such as chlorine, the slightly harder problem of sulphur compounds, and finally looks at a method for improved measurement of heavy labels in a metabolic study.
