Amazon.com description: Product Description: Mass Spectrometry Principles and Applications Edmond De Hoffmann Jean Charette Vincent Stroobant Universite catholique de Louvain, Belgium Mass spectrometry is a technique widely used throughout science for the identification of compounds, by producing, separating and detecting ions in the gas phase. A complete overview of the principles, theories and key applications of modern mass spectrometry are presented in this carefully structured text. All instrumental aspects of mass spectrometry are clearly and concisely described; sources, analysers and detectors. Tandem mass spectrometry is introduced early, and then developed in more detail in its own chapter. Emphasis is placed throughout the text on optimal utilization conditions. Various fragmentation patterns are described, along with the analytical information that derives from the mass spectra. The importance of applications is recognized, and this theme runs throughout the book, along with an entire chapter devoted to the analysis of biomolecules. Numerous examples and illustrations feature throughout, along with a series of exercises of increasing difficulty that help students fully to understand the subject. References to the original literature are provided for the reader who wants more detailed information, along with a list of books for further reading. Mass Spectrometry will be invaluable to undergraduates and postgraduates using this technique in departments of chemistry, biochemistry, medicine, pharmacology, agriculture and food science. It will also appeal to researchers looking for an introduction to this important technique. The authors . have chosen a level of presentation that will be useful to . students as a text and valuable to practitioners as a handbook. They have produced an entirely modern treatment which seems to be just right in its coverage of the underlying physical principles, the instrumentation and techniques, and the applications. They have taken the trouble to give their readers clear, well-chosen figures. The text is comprehensive without being encyclopaedic and should be very readable by people in a variety of disciplines. The weight given to modern biological applications is one of the strong points of the book; these are discussed in the context of the underlying chemistry. Professor R. Graham Cooks, Purdue University, USA This book provides an excellent coverage of all the main aspects of modern mass spectrometry. As such it will be a valuable text for students throughout all stages of their training - from first year BSc to final year PhD. Professor John Todd, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK