Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 19, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1996 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1995-0619.pr001
Preface ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY (ESI-MS) has grown as an analytical technique in exponential proportion over the past 5 or 6 years. During this time, a void has developed in the documentation of applications of ESI-MS for the many faceted and significant areas of the bio-related sciences. This book was developed from a series of symposia that addressed applications. It represents a focal point for the first collection of application-driven, problem-solving approaches on a multitude of contemporary analytical, biochemical, biological, biotechnoiogical, environmental, immunological, microbiological, and pharmaceutical issues with the very simple sample introduction and ionization analytical technique of ESI-MS. ESI-MS is a technique that can provide significant information to society-relevant, biologically related problems in the commercial sector; organism detection and detoxification; immunology; high-profile human diseases from the host, organism, and environmental points of view; and drug therapy fields. In short, the books says "Use me! Look what you get when you combine an amazingly simple and user-friendly sample introduction system with an easy-to-operate yet very sophisticated piece of analysis hardware. (Yes, unbelievably, there are relatively easy-tooperate, state-of-the-art, mass spectrometers in the commercial domain.) See for yourself how seemingly complex biological samples can be handled with ease." Thus one may ask how can meaningful, even ground-breaking, information be obtained in an area as large as bio-related science with a probe that sounds too good to be true from an operator or technician's point of view. The answer is twofold. This book testifies to the fact that ESI faithfully transfers the sample, including noncovalently bound analytes, to a very powerful, but straightforward in design, MS analyzer system. A wealth of data and information can be obtained, even with as little as picomoles-femtomoles of sample, that quite often cannot be realized by other analytical systems. These two characteristics make for an ideal partnership in the exploration of biologically related phenomena and substances, the latter of which can have from very low to very high molecular weights in the hundreds of thousands to millions of daltons. In this book, scientists from various avenues of scientific life provide their insights on the interpretation of ESI-MS investigations. Thus, the power of this book is in the planning and methods used to resolve the xi Snyder; Biochemical and Biotechnological Applications of Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1996.
data from investigations of various biological processes into useful information. This concept, presented by an interdisciplinary group of scientists, should appeal to beginners and seasoned practitioners. Such issues as "What can I expect and what shall I look out for in my experiments" are addressed throughout the book. This makes for very useful reading by any account.
Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 19, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1996 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1995-0619.pr001
Acknowledgments The seed of this project was planted by Richard R. Smardzewski. I listened to his ideas, and the result is the book you are holding in your hands—an accounting of the power of ESI-MS challenged with one of the most complex entities that Mother Nature has to offer: biological molecules. I express my sincere appreciation to the scientists who contributed their time in reviewing the manuscripts contained herein: Ruth H . Angeletti, Timothy R. Baker, Gerald W. Becker, Ian A. Blair, James H. Bourell, Brian T. Chait, Stephen H. Chan, Swapan K. Chowdhury, Mark J. Cole, Catherine A. Costello, Robert J. Cotter, Pamela F. Crain, Jack B. Cunniff, Deanne M . Dulik, Gerald C. DiDonato, Gottfried J. Feistner, Douglas A. Gage, Marie E . Grace, Michael L. Gross, Sohrab HabibiGoudarzi, Steven R. Hagen, Herman van Halbeek, Kathleen A. Harrison, Michael J. Hayes, Jack D. Henion, Ronald A. Hites, Feng-Yin Hsieh, T. William Hutchens, Constance M . John, Lawrence S. Kaminsky, Donald V. Kenny, Jeffrey P. Kiplinger, Steven E . Klohr, Michael D. Knierman, Wilson B. Knight, Roger A. Laine, S. Randolph Long, Joseph A. Loo, James A. McCloskey, Juan Fernandez de la Mora, Melanie M . C. G. Peters, James C. Richards, Kenneth L. Rinehart, Patrick A. Schindler, Jeffrey Shabanowitz, Jhobe Steadman, Justin G. Stroh, Andy J. Tomlinson, Frantisek Turecek, Paul Vouros, Eric Watson, Craig M. Whitehouse, and Ronald N. Zuckermann. A tremendous amount of clerical and administrative assistance and organizational concepts were provided by Linda G. Jarvis, and I thank her for her accomplishments. Also, I recognize Barbara E. Pralle for her organizational planning and support of this volume at the American Chemical Society. A. PETER SNYDER U.S. Army Edgewood Research, Development and Engineering Center Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5423 August 22, 1995
xii Snyder; Biochemical and Biotechnological Applications of Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1996.
