Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry is an analytical technique in which molecules in solution are converted into gas-phase ions by applying a high voltage to a fine spray, allowing their mass-to-charge ratios to be measured by a mass spectrometer. ESI is a soft ionization method, meaning it produces ions…
Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry is an analytical technique in which molecules in solution are converted into gas-phase ions by applying a high voltage to a fine spray, allowing their mass-to-charge ratios to be measured by a mass spectrometer. ESI is a soft ionization method, meaning it produces ions with little fragmentation, which makes it ideal for analyzing fragile, polar, and high-molecular-weight compounds without destroying them. It is most often coupled to liquid chromatography (LC-MS and LC-MS/MS) and to tandem mass spectrometers such as triple-quadrupole instruments, enabling sensitive and specific quantification of analytes in complex matrices like plasma. Typical applications include pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, bioanalysis, proteomics, and metabolomics, where ESI supports low limits of detection and quantitation. Method development commonly involves chromatographic separation on columns such as C18, sample preparation by protein precipitation, and validation of linearity, accuracy, and precision. ESI's versatility has made it a foundational tool in modern analytical chemistry. Open-access research offers peer-reviewed studies describing validated ESI-based LC-MS/MS methods for determining compounds in biological samples.
1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 1 article above has been cited 3 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
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