Quantitative ²⁵²Cf plasma desorption mass spectrometry for pharmaceuticals: A new approach to coupling liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry

Abstract

Abstract A 252 Cf plasma desorption mass spectrometer has been set up to analyse thin layers of non‐volatile organic samples. Molecular and fragment ions were produced and their mass was determined by a time‐of‐flight measurement. A novel interface combines a high‐performance liquid chromatograph with the 252 Cf plasma desorption mass spectrometer in a twofold way: introducing the effluent continuously through a capillary inlet in the on‐line liquid chromatography mass spectrometry mode or transferring already prepared samples through a vacuum lock into the mass spectrometer in the off‐line liquid chromatography+mass spectrometry mode. The off‐line mode has been applied for the quantitative analysis of pharmaceuticals in blood using stable isotope labelled standards.