Mass spectrometry goes offsite: new sampling method has forensic, pharmaceutical applications.(Tools & Tech)

Scientists at Purdue University, led by Graham Cooks, professor of analytical chemistry, recently reported a novel method for processing samples for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. (1) More than just a technological tweaking, it's an elegantly simple innovation that, MS experts say, could make mass spectrometers invaluable tools for applications ranging from field-site forensics to drug design to bomb detection.

"They've done something that maybe the rest of us, if we'd been half-smart, could've done," chuckles Fred McLafferty, a professor emeritus of chemistry at Cornell University and a long-time M S practitioner. "And I admire them more for that."

Historically, …