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Mass Spectrometry uses
22 December 2012
17:29
Pharmaceutical industry
- Mass spectrometer is very sensitive so small samples can be measured accurately
- Can also differentiate between similar compounds- can detect isomers
- In pharmaceutical industry, mass spec is used in combination with high performance liquid chromatography
- Similar to paper chromatography
- In HPLC, a mixture of chemicals is injected into one end of steel tube which is packed with Silica
- The compounds are pumped through the tube at high pressure
- Once separated into solvents, they are passed through the mass spec
- Can be used to identify break down products of a drug in the body or to assess the purity of the sample
Radioactive elements
- Elements undergo radioactive decay- occurs when an unstable nuclei breaks apart to become
stable and emits an alpha, beta or gamma radiation in the process
- Alpha- 2 protons, 2 neutrons (helium nuclei)
- Beta- high energy electrons
- Gamma- electromagnetic radiation
- During the process, the radioactive isotope of one element becomes a different isotope of a
different element
- Occurs spontaneously and randomly
- Half life- the time taken for half of the atoms now present to decay
Drug testing
- Urine sample taken
- Testosterone: epitestosterone in a normal person is 4:1
- With anabolic steroids this can raise to 6:1
- Mass spec detects ratio
- Some people have naturally high levels so can appear to have illegal drugs when they haven't
- Some people have low levels, so when they do use drugs, they appear to be normal
- New development is the use of more sensitive mass spec which detects carbon 13 : carbon 12
...
5 Atomic Structure Page 1