MS-based analytical techniques: advances in spray-based methods and EI-LC-MS applications

Mass spectrometry is the most powerful technique for the detection and identification of organic compounds. It can provide molecular weight information as well as a wealth of structural details that give a unique fingerprint for each analyte. Due to these characteristics, mass spectrometry-based analytical methods are showing an increasing interest in the scientific community, especially in food safety, environmental and forensic investigation areas where the simultaneous detection of targeted and non-targeted compounds represents a key factor. In addition, safety risks can be identified at the early stage through on-line and real-time analytical methodologies. In this context, several efforts have been made to achieve analytical instrumentation able to perform real-time analysis in the native environment of samples as well as to generate highly informative spectra. This review article provides a survey of some instrumental innovations and their applications with particular attention to spray-based MS methods and food analysis issues. The survey will attempt to cover the state-of-the-art from 2012 up to 2017.