ABSTRACT
Liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESIMS) was introduced in the 1980s [1]. Today it has become a standard method for separation and characterization of nonvolatile compounds. Reversed-phase highperformance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled to ESI-MS is the method of choice for peptide and protein analysis, but also used for the characterization of contaminants, therapeutic drugs, and food additives [2-5]. More than 75% of HPLC analyses are run on RP stationary phases, and a wide range of columns are available with various substituents of the silica matrix, base deactivation, endcapping, and column dimensions.
