Homeland security mass spectrometry applications

Today I am going to speak about some of the continuous aerosol mass spectrometry methods that are currently in use. These methods are primarily used for atmospheric chemistry measurements related to human health such as pollution remediation, although now national security and homeland defense applications are starting to evolve. Most aerosol analysis methods are not realtime analyses bridging the gap between on-line and off-line technologies is a challenge that is being addressed. 

While the applications of ambient ionization mass spectrometry have been widely reported in areas such as biomedical, homeland security/forensics, and pharmaceutical process monitoring, the evaluation and the use of these techniques for absorption,... 

METHODS OF MASS SPECTROMETRY IN HOMELAND SECURITY APPLICATIONS... 

In this chapter, the reader will find the most commonly applied approaches for application of mass spectrometry in homeland security-related research relevant protocols will be detailed when apphcable. 

Although successful, this standardization somewhat diminishes the advantages of the mass spectrometer itself reproducibility comes with the price of losing flexibility. With such stringent conditions, the application of whole-cell mass spectrometry and proteomic fingerprinting could become inadequate when analyzing a sample that poses a threat to homeland security. 

Various mass spectrometers such as a single quadrupole, triple quadrupole, and quadrupole ITMSs are used for the detection of explosives. However, the ITMS has several advantages for homeland security applications. For example, the quadrupole ion trap has high sensitivity with a full scan mode and has tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) capabilities. Furthermore, the quadrupole ion trap is robust, and complicated calibrations are not necessary with this instrument format. 

Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry and PTR-MS A Brief Comparison for Homeland Security Applications... 

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