Development of new methodologies for the mass spectrometry study of bioorganic macromolecules.

In recent years, mass spectrometry has been increasingly used for the analysis of various macromolecules of biological, biomedical, and biochemical interest. This increase has been made possible by two key developments: the advent of electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) sources. The two new techniques produce a significant increase in mass range and in sensitivity that led to the development of new applications and of new analyzer designs, software, and robotics. This review, apart from the description of the status of mass spectrometry in the analysis of bioorganic macromolecules, is mainly devoted to the illustration of the more recent promising techniques and on their possible future evolution. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 22:369-406, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mas.10062