mass spectrometry

noun

Definition of mass spectrometry

: an instrumental method for identifying the chemical constitution of a substance by means of the separation of gaseous ions according to their differing mass and charge

— called also mass spectroscopy

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Examples of mass spectrometry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Using a technique called mass spectrometry, Robinson and his colleagues studied the chemical composition of four of the bundles and found the compounds scopolamine and atropine—the same chemical mixture that’s found in datura. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Rock art in a California cave was a visual guide to hallucinogenic plants," 24 Nov. 2020 Moreover, multimodality approaches, for example, combining mass spectrometry with scanning and imaging devices, help distinguish between benign versus malignant states. — Members Of The Oncology Think Tank, Scientific American, "We Must Find Ways to Detect Cancer Much Earlier," 8 Jan. 2021 Then, a technique called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is used to separate and identify each chemical compound to create something like a recipe, or a template for historians. — Star Tribune, "What does history smell like?," 25 Dec. 2020 As many as 1,500 to 2,800 chemicals would leach out and, using high-resolution mass spectrometry, the team methodically identified and analyzed these compounds. — Rosanna Xia Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "Scientists solve mystery of mass coho salmon deaths. The killer? A chemical from car tires," 3 Dec. 2020 By analyzing the condensates using mass spectrometry, Davis hopes to pinpoint which concentrations of these molecules could indicate a likely immune system overreaction. — Keith Gillogly, Wired, "Could Breathalyzers Make Covid Testing Quicker and Easier?," 15 Sep. 2020 Most of the Novichok molecule would remain linked to one of the fragments and would be easy to detect by mass spectrometry, says Oksana Lockridge, a toxicologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. — Richard Stone, Science | AAAS, "How German military scientists likely identified the nerve agent used to attack Alexei Navalny," 8 Sep. 2020 But for the liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry portion of the research, Longin did have to filter the beer. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "The chemistry of what makes sour beer so sour," 24 Aug. 2020 The mass spectrometry data will be particularly useful in determining whether the trace compounds are byproducts from the activity of yeast and bacteria or derive from the barrels in which the sour beer is aged. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "The chemistry of what makes sour beer so sour," 24 Aug. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mass spectrometry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

2 Feb 2021

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“Mass spectrometry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mass%20spectrometry. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for mass spectrometry

mass spectrometry

noun

Medical Definition of mass spectrometry

: an instrumental method for identifying the chemical constitution of a substance by means of the separation of gaseous ions according to their differing mass and charge

— called also mass spectroscopy