Recent instrumental progress in mass spectrometry: advancing resolution, accuracy, and speed of drug detection

Fast and unequivocal drug detection is of considerable importance in numerous fields of analytical chemistry, and today mass spectrometry-based approaches are often the method of choice due to their sensitive and specific nature. Mass spectrometry is in constant flux with innovations and thus supports the development of new, complementary assays for rapid determination of drugs and toxins as well as their metabolic products in clinical, forensic, and doping control laboratories. Examples of such innovations that have greatly aided the worldwide bioanalytical efforts are the modern improvements in ion trap, for example, Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer--Orbitrap, and time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzers when coupled with sensitive ionization techniques such as electrospray ionization. In this perspective, the utility of state-of-the-art mass spectrometers and recent instrumental developments such as new and/or improved hybrid analyzers are discussed and selected applications presented.