ABSTRACT
The buzz words in mass spectrometry (MS) these days are APCI (atmospheric-pressure chemical ionisation), electrospray, tandem MS, LC-MS and LC-MS-MS, MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation) and ToF (time of flight analysis). To understand this terminology it is useful for a scientist to understand some basic fundamentals and historical aspects of MS, hence the contents of this chapter are ordered in a historical perspective.
