Definition

Noun: - An analytical technique: Mass spectroscopy is the use of spectroscopy to determine the masses and relative abundances of small, electrically charged particles (ions). It separates ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio, allowing for the identification and quantification of substances.

Usage

Mass spectroscopy is used to analyze the composition of a sample by generating a mass spectrum, which plots ion abundance against mass-to-charge ratio. - The laboratory used mass spectroscopy to identify the unknown organic compound. - Mass spectroscopy is crucial for determining the molecular weight of proteins.

Advanced Usage

• "Tandem mass spectroscopy (MS/MS)": A technique where ions are selected, fragmented, and then analyzed in a second mass spectroscopy stage for detailed structural analysis.
  • The research relied on tandem mass spectroscopy to sequence the peptide.

Variants and Related Words

• Mass spectrometer (n): The instrument used to perform mass spectroscopy.
  • The sample was injected into the mass spectrometer.
• Mass spectrometric (adj): Relating to mass spectroscopy.
  • The mass spectrometric data confirmed the hypothesis.
• Mass spectrum (n): The output graph or data from a mass spectroscopy analysis.
  • The mass spectrum showed a clear molecular ion peak.

Synonyms

• Mass spectrometry: Often used interchangeably with mass spectroscopy, though spectrometry sometimes emphasizes the measurement aspect.
• MS: A common abbreviation for both mass spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

Related Phrases

• "Coupled with gas chromatography": A common phrase describing a hybrid analytical technique (GC-MS).
  • The analysis was performed using mass spectroscopy coupled with gas chromatography.

Noun

1. the use of spectroscopy to determine the masses of small electrically charged particles