How to Use mass spectrometry in a Sentence

mass spectrometry

noun
Definition of mass spectrometrynext
  • To find the answer, the researchers turned to mass spectrometry, a technique that can measure the mass of atomic isotopes.
    — Saugat Bolakhe, Quanta Magazine, 17 July 2023
  • The second method may be the more familiar use of mass spectrometry in pop culture.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 27 Aug. 2021
  • Rosetta sent back mass spectrometry data showing that glycine, the simplest amino acid, was present on the comet.
    — Luba Ostashevsky, Ars Technica, 26 Feb. 2018
  • For the new study, Lee and co-authors used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to do just that.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 18 Jan. 2023
  • What’s more, these data sets range from state-of-the-art mass spectrometry measurements to hundred-year-old maps hand-painted on linen.
    — Josh Goldman, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Apr. 2023
  • That’s where gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS to its friends) comes in.
    — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 2 July 2019
  • Extracting the proteins and examining them with a process called mass spectrometry let Kraus and her team see how old the proteins were.
    — Leslie Nemo, Discover Magazine, 9 Oct. 2019
  • Scientists can use mass spectrometry to analyze how levels vary from one year to the next.
    — Dave Levitan, Scientific American, 25 May 2020
  • By running mass spectrometry on one of the site’s exigent 52 stones, the researchers were able to match its trace elements to a site in England where that rock was likely mined.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 31 July 2020
  • The first element was an analysis of the nerve agent provided by mass spectrometry, a technique that sorts ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio.
    — Ellen Barry and David E. Sanger, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2018
  • But for the liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry portion of the research, Longin did have to filter the beer.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Aug. 2020
  • Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, the team found a ton of the usual bad smell offenders.
    — Max G. Levy, Wired, 3 June 2021
  • The process here begins with putting samples of real whiskey, wine or sake into a machine that performs a process known as gas and liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.
    — Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, 20 Feb. 2020
  • The Orbitrap is a tool for mass spectrometry, a go-to technique for scientists that separates molecules by their mass and measures how much of each there is in a sample.
    — Briley Lewis, Popular Science, 24 Jan. 2023
  • Then the mass spectrometry machine counts up the piles—or quantifies how much of each chemical is present based on its molecular signature.
    — Betsy Ladyzhets, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Two labs also detected the proteins laminin and elastin with antibody tests, although mass spectrometry failed to turn up sequences for these proteins.
    — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, 13 Sep. 2017
  • Sampling all along a baleen plate with mass spectrometry reveals the isotopic markers over time, including the transition from one ocean to another.
    — Jennifer S. Holland, Smithsonian, 1 Sep. 2017
  • Welker and his colleagues dissolved tiny amounts of enamel from a G. blacki molar and used mass spectrometry to identify more than 500 peptides that matched six proteins.
    — Gretchen Vogel, Science | AAAS, 13 Nov. 2019
  • Some are able to check their drugs with infrared or mass spectrometry, tools traditionally used by forensic teams that are now being adopted by harm-reduction groups to test drugs.
    — Nadia Kounang, CNN, 17 Mar. 2022
  • The authors tested the paintings with protein mass spectrometry: a technique that allows scientists to break a sample down into the proteins within.
    — Rahul Rao, Popular Science, 25 May 2023
  • Those peptide chains—amino acids linked like Lego blocks—were then analyzed in a mass spectrometry machine and identified using protein databases.
    — Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 12 Jan. 2018
  • Back in the lab, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry machine separated all the compounds, which could then be recorded and named, resulting in an aromatic recipe of sorts.
    — Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 25 Jan. 2022
  • Davis walks me by its gas chromatography mass spectrometry system, which separates out those molecules as a slab of real meat is cooking.
    — Beth Kowitt, Fortune, 19 Dec. 2017
  • Rather than use electrophoresis, Righetti opted to try a more powerful technique called mass spectrometry.
    — Jo Marchant, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Nov. 2022
  • These compounds could be spotted in a matter of minutes using a special type of mass spectrometry in which technicians use a piece of paper to rapidly transfer substances from a swab to an analyzer.
    — Diana Kwon, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2022
  • Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, the team discovered residue of oleic and linoleic acid, telltale signatures of olive oil.
    — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 4 June 2018
  • The scientists would pick up a cooler full of frozen wastewater samples, thaw them and analyze them using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.
    — Gene Johnson, The Seattle Times, 24 June 2019
  • The scientists would pick up a cooler full of frozen wastewater samples, thaw them, and analyze them using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.
    — Gene Johnson, BostonGlobe.com, 20 June 2019
  • The research team studied the molecular structure of the samples using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry machine.
    — Peter Weber, The Week, 2 Feb. 2023
  • Drug tests primarily rely on urine testing, utilizing a technique called mass spectrometry.
    — Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 24 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mass spectrometry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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