Mass Spectrometry Essay

Early detection and diagnosis of chronic disease is of vital importance in the development of an effective treatment plan. Typical diagnostic methodology involves a multistep approach consisting of a differential diagnosis, pattern recognition, and a final clinical component. The lengthy process must be completed before any treatment options are considered often resulting in over/under diagnosis, error, and lag-time. It would be of great benefit to develop a more effective system to heighten the potential advantages of early diagnosis. Current research involves the use of analytical techniques as diagnostic tools for a variety of chronic illnesses. IR, Raman, and NMR spectroscopy, as well as Mass Spectrometry have been successfully utilized in the detection of brain, bone/joint, and endocrine disorders, as well as genetic disease, syndromes of internal organs, and cancer. These technologies have proven to be more efficient and less invasive than classical techniques proving that further advancement in this field would be advantageous to the medical community.
II. INTRODUCTION
The diagnostic process has both medical and economic implications. Early diagnosis of …show more content…
This ratio is presented in a spectrum from which both elemental composition and concentration can be obtained.3 Mass spectrometry analysis offers several advantages due to its molecular selectivity and sensitivity.6 A common types mass spectrometry technique is Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI IMS).7 This method may incorporate either TOF (time of flight) or FT-ICR (fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance) technologies depending on molecular compound weight. MALDI-TOF is typically used to analyze small proteins and peptides, whereas MALDI FT-ICR is characterized by high resolution and is often used for lower molecular weight