TOF Mass Spectrometers

Time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometers are analytical instruments broadly used in life science research in areas such as drug discovery, microbiology, cell biology, and protein biochemistry. The TOF mass analyzer accelerates ionized sample particles as a beam or by relfection toward a detector. Under defined kinetic energy, the flight time of the particle before it reaches the detector (at a set distance) directly relates to its mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). The m/z spectrum generated allows for the identification of compounds within the sample. Modern TOF instruments couple this type of analyzer to gas chromatography (GC-TOF), the MALDI ionization method (MALDI-TOF), and to other analyzers such as quadrupoles. To help choose which time of flight mass spectrometer is right for your needs, consider the nature of the sample, amount of sample, speed of testing, and the completeness the reference library.