High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry: An Emerging Analytical Method for Drug Testing

Abstract High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has emerged as an extremely powerful technique and has been applied for the analysis of seized materials, doping agents/steroids, veterinary drugs, poisons, medicinal drugs, and drugs of abuse. However it is with toxicological screening in particular, where liquid chromatography combined with HRMS (LC-HRMS) is currently demonstrating significant benefits. In this chapter, basic principles of HRMS as well as currently available high-resolution mass analyzers have been discussed. A number of different types of HRMS instruments (that is to say, instruments capable of delivering resolving power of ≥10,000 m/Δm) are available these days. Of these, those based on time-of-flight and Orbitrap analyzers have emerged as the most useful and commonly used in toxicology. Application of HRMS in drug testing as well as limitations of HRMS are also addressed in this chapter