PUTTING MASS-SPECTROMETRY IN THE HANDS OF THE END-USER

The ease of use of the newer liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry i nterfaces has made possible the automated acquisition of spectra from large batch queues of samples. This fact, combined with the realizatio n that unit molecular mass determination was the only datum desired by a majority of drug discovery synthetic chemists, led us to develop op en access mass spectrometry in the early 1990s. Open access spectromet ers now scan over 100,000 samples per year from synthesis laboratories at Pfizer. Our experiences with this novel use of mass spectrometry i n a large research facility are discussed and we detail some of the pi tfalls we believe to be common to this approach. In addition, we offer some reflection on the cultural changes we have observed in our resea rch environment since this experiment began.