For many decades, the technique of mass spectrometry has been the most important tool available for the scientific investigation of matter in all of its forms. However, the analysis of larger molecules was shackled for a long time by an inability to ionise large molecules into the gas phase. Only in the late 1980s the emergence of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI)[5] and electrospray ionisation (ESI) revolutionised the analysis of large molecules via MS.

In this trend article G. Hart-Smith from the The University of New South Wales, Sydney and C. Barner-Kowollik from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology present important fundamental concepts of soft ionisation mass spectrometry in a tutorial style fashion within the context of the analysis of polymer systems, and the remarkable breadth, power and versatility of these techniques is illustrated on selected examples. They suggest that MS-based analyses represent one of the most promising areas of research in polymer science, and that the polymer chemistry community would be well served by utilising this analytical discipline in a more intensive manner.

Find out more about trends and highlights in polymer science here.

G. Hart-Smith, C. Barner-Kowollik, Macromol. Chem. Phys., 2010 ; DOI: 10.1002/macp.201000107