What is tandem mass spectrometry?
Tandem mass spectrometry is a chemical technique that uses a machine to assess the levels of different substances in the sample. This is achieved by breaking the molecular components of the sample into small pieces and measuring the weight of these pieces. Tandem mass spectrometry is a useful method of medical diagnosis, as many conditions create a significant profile of biological molecules. Although this technique has different applications, its most widespread use is the diagnosis of congenital conditions in infants.
The mass spectrometer is sufficiently sensitive to accurately assess the weight of the molecule to the atomic level. Molecules are small structures that consist of atoms glued together. It is the type and amount of atoms and the way they are arranged in the molecule, dictates what the molecule is. For example, protein consists of many smaller cuts called amino acids, which in turn divide into atoms. The fat molecule consists of smaller sections of called fatty acids, which are also divided into atoms.
Each atom has a specific mass, which means that small molecules such as amino acids, and the proteins that form, have their own significant mass. The mass spectrometer can measure the weight of the molecules to a very sensitive level by assessing how it reacts to the electrical charge that concerns matter. Then it converts these materials into substances using a computer. The analyst can therefore enter a sample into the machine and wait for the technique of tandem mass spectrometry to provide the result.
Although this is the overall idea of a mass spectrometer, more complex processes inside the tandem mass spectrometric unit are taking place. The machine is actually made up of two or more mass spectrometers, ie tandem description. The first spectrometer separates the sample components and evaluates their masses, but then is sent by molecules to the tandem mass spectrometer segment called collision cell. In the section collision bThe unhine, which is between the first and second weight spectrometer in the unit, is divided into pieces. These pieces then move to the second spectrometer that analyzes the mass.
Information collected by a machine made of tandem mass spectrometry is converted to the names of the analysts. Medical scientists know that certain conditions show a characteristic profile of biological molecules in a sample such as blood. Comparison of a sample with a known profile can help doctors diagnose certain conditions, such as newborn problems in metabolism.
More than one condition can be recognizable from a single round of tandem mass spectrometry, an advantage for saving time for technology compared to tests that identify only one condition at a time. Examples of health problems that are identifying this form of mass spectrometry belong to phenylketonuria, a condition that may result in intellectual disability if not treated, and galactosemia,which can be fatal for children.