Urban Pawel L
Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2016 Oct 28;374(2079). doi: 10.1098/rsta.2015.0382.
Mass spectrometry (MS) is a mainstream chemical analysis technique in the twenty-first century. It has contributed to numerous discoveries in chemistry, physics and biochemistry. Hundreds of research laboratories scattered all over the world use MS every day to investigate fundamental phenomena on the molecular level. MS is also widely used by industry-especially in drug discovery, quality control and food safety protocols. In some cases, mass spectrometers are indispensable and irreplaceable by any other metrological tools. The uniqueness of MS is due to the fact that it enables direct identification of molecules based on the mass-to-charge ratios as well as fragmentation patterns. Thus, for several decades now, MS has been used in qualitative chemical analysis. To address the pressing need for quantitative molecular measurements, a number of laboratories focused on technological and methodological improvements that could render MS a fully quantitative metrological platform. In this theme issue, the experts working for some of those laboratories share their knowledge and enthusiasm about quantitative MS. I hope this theme issue will benefit readers, and foster fundamental and applied research based on quantitative MS measurements.This article is part of the themed issue 'Quantitative mass spectrometry'.
质谱分析法（MS）是21世纪的一种主流化学分析技术。它为化学、物理和生物化学领域的众多发现做出了贡献。遍布全球的数百个研究实验室每天都在使用质谱分析法来研究分子水平上的基本现象。质谱分析法在工业领域也有广泛应用，尤其是在药物研发、质量控制和食品安全规程方面。在某些情况下，质谱仪是不可或缺的，任何其他计量工具都无法替代。质谱分析法的独特之处在于它能够基于质荷比以及碎片模式直接识别分子。因此，几十年来，质谱分析法一直用于定性化学分析。为满足对分子定量测量的迫切需求，许多实验室专注于技术和方法的改进，以使质谱分析法成为一个完全定量的计量平台。在这个主题专刊中，来自其中一些实验室的专家分享了他们关于定量质谱分析法的知识和热情。我希望这个主题专刊能使读者受益，并促进基于定量质谱测量的基础研究和应用研究。本文是主题专刊“定量质谱分析法”的一部分。
