Putting mass spectrometry in the hands of the end user.

The ease of use of the newer liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry interfaces has made possible the automated acquisition of spectra from large batch queues of samples. This fact, combined with the realization that unit molecular mass determination was the only datum desired by a majority of drug discovery synthetic chemists, led us to develop open access mass spectrometry in the early 1990s. Open access spectrometers now scan over 100,000 samples per year from synthesis laboratories at Pfizer. Our experiences with this novel use of mass spectrometry in a large research facility are discussed and we detail some of the pitfalls we believe to be common to this approach. In addition, we offer some reflection on the cultural changes we have observed in our research environment since this experiment began.