Application of ES-MS in Combinatorial Chemistry Analysis

The ability of combinatorial chemistry to generate a myriad of compounds in a very short period of time sets demands upon the analytical techniques to produce a maximum of information in a minimum of time. A prime candidate for the analysis of combinatori-ally generated compounds is electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ES-MS) using a quadrupole mass analyzer. In the following section we wish to examine the practical aspects of ES-MS, and exemplify these on the routine analysis of several combinatorially generated compounds and libraries. Furthermore, attention will be paid to high-through-put and computer-assisted sample evaluation. 

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First an introduction to the physical parameters of the FT-ICR method is presented, which has been used seldomly for routine analysis.This shows the possibilities but also the limits of the mass detection method. Then the immense potentials of 1CR-MS for analysis in combinatorial chemistry will be demonstrated by examples of measurements of synthetic compound mixtures and simple compound collections. The application of the coupling of micro-HPLC and ES-FT-ICR mass spectrometer underlines the universal applicability of this powerful detection method for single bead analysis. 

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