Coupling Techniques and Orthogonal Combination of Mass Spectrometric Techniques

Abstract

Metallomics is a relatively new research discipline, which has its origin within the field of elemental speciation and bioinorganic speciation analysis. Already in the early 1960s it has been realized, that the total concentration of an element is of little value for the assessment of the biological impact of a trace element, while its chemical form strongly defines its behavior e.g. in different environmental compartments or its role inside as well as its impact on living biological systems. In particular from a toxicological point of view the speciation of an element is of great importance since some forms might be of minor relevance or even essential for an organism, while others could induce adverse effect even at ultra-trace concentration levels. Within this background the evolution of speciation is strongly associated with the need for reliable analytical techniques allowing the differentiation between the different chemical forms of one or more elements present in the analysed sample, as well as their accurate quantification and final identification.