In: Advanced Math
Mass spectrometry is an extremely versatile detection system for gas chromatography. Describe the major reasons why it is more difficult to combine HPLC with mass spectrometry than it is to combine GC with mass spectrometry.
The basic requirement in mass spectrometry (MS) is a gas-phase sample. Solute dissolved in a solvent is the output of the high-performance liquid chromatography column (HPLC) whereas gas is the output of the gas chromatography (GC) column. Thus, high-performance liquid chromatography is not compatible with mass spectrometry.
Also we observed that, the solvent is first vaporized in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to produce gas. Its volume is 10 to 1000 times greater than the carrier gas in gas chromatography. This is indicates that most of the solvent in LC/MS has to be removed.
Therefore, HPLC combines with mass spectrometry in a quite difficult manner than GC.