This series of books provides coverage of all of the major analytical techniques and their application in the most important areas of physical, life and materials science. Each text is presented in an open learning/distance learning style, in which the learning objectives are clearly identified. The reader's understanding of the material is constantly evaluated by the use of self-assessment and discussion questions.

The combination of gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been a routine analytical tool for many years, while the related hybrid technique of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is a rather more recent development. However, with the advent of new interfacing technology, the benefits of this powerful hybrid analytical method are now currently being realised, as witnessed by the exponential growth in applications of this technique in both the chemical and life sciences.

The topics covered in this text include the following:

• The basic principles of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry
• The limitations of the component techniques when used in isolation, and how a combination of the two allows these to be overcome
• Descriptions of the various approaches, including thermospray, electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, which are used to interface the two techniques, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each system
• Illustrative examples of the applications of LC-MS, including the molecular weight and structure determinations of both biopolymers and low-molecular-compounds, along with the development of quantitative methods

Key features include:

• The provision of many discussion and self-assessment questions throughout the text, thus providing opportunities for testing the reader's understanding of the subject matter
• Presented in the AnTS (open learning/distance learning) style, it is ideal for use as both a self-study guide and as the basis of a taught course
• A comprehensive bibliography, including books, papers/articles in journals and on websites, along with specific references for the individual chapters, to guide the reader to more specialised texts and original sources
• Written with a student audience in mind, this text will provide an invaluable introduction to this increasingly important analytical tandem technique.