History of the Mass Spectrometer
A mass spectrometer is a device or instrument used to analyze and measure the elemental composition of molecules. With its roots in the mid-19th century, the practice of mass spectrometry arose out of physical and chemical studies pertaining to the nature of matter. Techniques used in mass spectrometry existed long before the first actual mass spectrometer was developed.
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Joseph John Thomson
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British physicist Joseph John Thomson (1858--1940) started it all. During his examination of canal rays (beams of positive ions) to determine their composition, Thomson noticed the deflection of the stream of ionized neon he ran through a magnetic and an electric field---two patches of light recorded on the photographic plate. Thomson concluded that neon comprises atoms of two different masses, or isotopes. This experiment pioneered the technique of mass spectrometry. Thompson received the 1906 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work.
Francis William Aston
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A student of Thomson, Francis William Aston (1877--1945), continued and improved on the work of his mentor. He was able to demonstrate the existence of several isotopes in a large number of non-radioactive elements using electrostatic and magnetic fields. For his efforts, he won the 1922 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
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Wolfgang Paul and Hans Georg Dehmelt
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By the time physicists Wolfgang Paul (1913--1993) and Hans Georg Dehmelt (born 1922) made their contributions in the 1950s and 1960s, mass spectrometry was an established technique for the separation of ions by mass. Paul and Dehmelt developed the ion trap, the first truly known mass spectrometer, which captures ions with electric or magnetic fields in a region of a tube or vacuum system. Paul and Dehmelt were awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize for Physics.
John Bennett Fenn
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American research professor John Bennett Fenn (born 1917) is responsible for developing the electrospray ionization technique. Also known as ESI, the process involves producing ions, particularly from macromolecules. It is also used to identify and analyze biological macromolecules. Fenn received the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work.
Koichi Tanaka
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The contribution of Japanese scientist Koichi Tanaka (born 1959) to mass spectrometry involves the development of soft laser desorption for mass spectrometry (SLD) in 1987. In SLD, lasers release large molecules to be converted into ions without breaking their chemical bonds. Although matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)---a technique similar to SLD but that uses a separate matrix compound---spectrometers are much more widely used, Tanaka's achievement was recognized with the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which he shared with fellow mass spectrometry contributor Fenn and two other winners.
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