Colophon

The title image for this document is a mass spectra of phosphoric acid. The spectra was acquired in positive ion mode on a Waters Q-Tof Micro using the ESI source.

Phosphoric acid is an acid with a molecular weight of 98 grams per mole. It has a variety of uses in the lab, including as a mass spectrometry standard. Phosphoric acid is also used commonly to remove rust from iron surfaces and tools. However the most common application of phosphoric acid for the layperson is likely in carbonated soda, where it is used to provide a sour or tangy flavor.

To take the raw spectra and make it into a title graphic, the author used the GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). The same image was used for a previous version of Mass Spectrometry For Dummies by the same author.

Credits

Thanks

First, I would like to thank my wife. She moved with me from Minnesota to Upstate New York in part so that I could have the opportunity to pursue my PhD in biochemistry.

Second I would like to thank SUNY Upstate Medical University Department of Biochemiistry and Molecular Biology for giving me the opportunity to pursue my PhD. In particular I would like to thank my advisor Stephan Wilkens.

I would also like to thank the clinical pharmacy department at SUNY Upstate Medical University, who gave me the opportunity to use proteomics and mass spectrometry in a more clinically relevant setup. The assistant directory of the pharmacy, Dr. John Noviasky, suggested that I should write a "dummies" work on mass spectrometry after I gave a short introduction to mass spectrometry at a grand rounds in his department.

If you would like to know more about the author, you can email him at parsonsl@upstate.edu. You can also view Lee's Cirricula Vitae (CV) online.

Disclaimer

The author of this work is in no way associated with, reviewed by, endorsed by, or in any way compensated by, Wiley and Associates, the company responsible for the ever-growing collection of Dummies books.

This document is intended to be approachable and informative, though by no means comprehensive. Mass spectometry and proteomics are rapidly evolving and growing fields and it is nearly impossible to encompass all of their many facets in one written work.