Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is one of the most reliable modern analytical technique offers several advantages.
LC-MS is a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry used to isolate the compounds of a sample mixture with the power of mass spectrometry as a detector. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separates molecules by sample mixture and mass spectrometry (MS) provides structural identification of individual compounds with high detection sensitivity and molecular specificity.
The sample is pumped through a stationary phase (LC column) by a mobile phase flowing at high pressure. As per the affinity the analytes move through the HPLC column at different migration rates. After elution from the LC column, the effluent is directed to the mass spectrometer. The mass determines the mass-to-charge ratio of ions, this data can be used to determine the exact molecular mass and structural information about the component of the sample.
Advantages of LC-MS:
- The major advantage of LC-MS is that it is the most robust analytical technique that provides higher sensitivity and selectivity required to detect an exact molecular weight of a wide range of samples.
- This can help in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals to streamline their research or analysis processes and compliance with regulatory guidelines.
- The combination of the two analytical techniques (MS and HPLC) reduces experimental error and improves accuracy.
- It can separate and identify solutes in low concentrations (which are in parts per million- PPM) in a complex mixture.
- LC-MS is widely applied as regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical, bio-pharmaceutical, research, forensic, food, and environmental sectors.
- The LC-MS offers high selectivity, resolution, precise mass, and specificity as compared with other chromatography techniques.
- It is applied to a wide range of samples and able to identify the different types of impurities.
- This is an incomparable method to identify unknown components of a sample solution.
- Mass spectroscopy can also work with gas chromatography such as GC-MS.
Disadvantages of LC-MS:
- The major disadvantage of LC-MS is that it only works with volatile buffers that are required to avoid fouling of the API interface.
- LC-MS has another disadvantage is that the residual impurities being analyzed should be ionized.
- Phosphate buffer is not compatible with the LC-MS analysis, which is the most commonly used buffer in HPLC method development.
- LC-MS is an expensive technique both in terms of capital and analysis costs.
- This is not a portable instrument; it requires special and more space.
- To operate and data analysis of the liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS) requires a skilled and trained person.
- The LC-MS has a high maintenance cost as compared with other analytical instruments.
Commonly asked questions on LC-MS are as follows.
What are the applications of LC MC?
LC-MS is an analytical tool that has many industrial and research applications in the fields of pharmaceuticals, environmental, bio-pharmaceutical, and forensics.
What is the advantage of LC-MS over HPLC?
The major advantage of LC-MS over HPLC is that LC-MS can achieve a complete elucidation of the chemical structure of the molecule.
What is the difference between LC-MS and HPLC?
The main difference between LC-MS and HPLC is that the HPLC is used to isolate, identify, and determine each component of the sample mixture, whereas LC-MS is a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry that is used to determine the structural identity of the compound.
You may also like this
No comments:
Post a Comment