Preface

Mass spectrometry, combined with the modern tools of chemo- and bioinformatics, has emerged as one of the most powerful tools in research with numerous applications in industry. The analytical capacity of mass spectrometry has exceeded beyond its conventional role of determination molecular mass and structural determination. Recent developments in ionization, detection techniques and data analysis tools, as well as applications of mass spectrometry in various fields continue to open up new vistas in this rapidly evolving field. The present volume of “Application of Mass Spectrometry” provides a useful insight into some of these developments. The present 1st volume of this book series comprises of 5 comprehensive reviews, written by the leading practitioners of mass spectrometry. These articles present diverse applications of mass spectrometry in fields such as animal nutrition, food and environmental analysis, biomedical and forensic sciences, as well as toxicology and explosives. Qualitative and quantitative analysis and identification of proteins and peptides are the cross cutting themes in many of these articles.

The review by Gonzalez-Ronquillo et al. focuses on the accurate quantification of microbial protein synthesis in ruminants by employing ¹⁵N isotopic mass spectrometry. Zhu et al. review the recent developments in qualitative and quantitative analysis of proteins and peptides in food matrices through LC-MS techniques. Izadmanesh and Ghasemi have provided an extensive review of the use of chemometric tools for the analysis of complex mass spectrometric data. Heavy metal toxicity is a global health challenge, and reliable methods are required for the detection of heavy metals in water and other samples. Developments in this area employing ICP-MS methods are reviewed by Boruah and Biswas. Finally Anilanmert and Cengiz have reviewed the relevant literature on the direct and on-site detection of various explosives and their residues by modern mass spectrometry. Each article presents case studies of the use of various innovative mass spectrometric tools, along with their strengths and limitations.

We are grateful to all the authors for their excellent scholarly contributions, and for the timely submissions of their review article. We would also like to express our gratitude to Ms. Fariya Zulfiqar (Manager Publications) and Mr. Mahmood Alam (Director Publications) of Bentham Science Publishers for the timely completion of the volume in hand. We sincerely hope that the efforts of authors and production team will help readers in better understanding and appreciating the versatility and robustness of mass spectrometry, and motivate them to conduct good quality research and development work in this exciting area.