Mass Spectrometry

Mass Spectrometry in Environmental Analysis

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A broad variety of contaminants with the potential to cause harm to humans and animals can make their way into the environment. They may be found in the air, water, and soil and may come from sources such as industrial waste, landfill sites, pesticides, and pharmaceutical drugs. Identification of these contaminants is challenging because of the huge variety of potential compounds with varying chemical compositions. The administration of these components often requires monitoring for the presence of very low concentrations of a variety of contaminants. These challenges call for advanced analytical techniques which are sensitive, robust, fast and cost-effective. Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry are two major techniques which can help in detecting environmental contaminants. In the past few decades, developments in both techniques have improved their applicability to environmental analysis.