Operation of an academic open access mass spectrometry facility with particular reference to the analysis of synthetic compounds.

Open access mass spectrometry now provides the opportunity to move this spectroscopic method to the beginning of the analytical chain, a place formerly the exclusive province of NMR and TLC. To date this transition has been occurring in industrial settings but there has been less change in the academic environment. This paper provides one blueprint for setting up such a facility, primarily in support of organic synthesis but also for the use of biological scientists. The open access format used at UCI utilizes four instruments: an ESI-TOFMS system used in the flow injection mode, two GC/MS systems (one in EI and one in CI) and a MALDI-TOFMS system. The first three instruments have autosamplers and open access software whereas the MALDI system has a fully automated plate handling interface. This level of automation allows access to the instruments by a user community of more than 100 users, day or night. The decisions made in setting up these instruments were based on a 'keep it simple' philosophy, given the fact that the primary type of data of interest is the molecular mass of the analyte and that data are required for a very wide range of structures. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.