FTICR-Mass spectrometry for high-resolution analysis in combinatorial chemistry

The diversity of compound collections required for finding lead structures in pharmaceutical research can be provided by means of combinatorial organi c chemistry. The resultant enormous number of single compounds but also of compound mixtures represents a challenge for the analyst. With the introduc tion of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR- MS or FT-MS), a new and, as yet, not widespread mass spectrometric techniqu e (a means of analysis of such compound libraries with a very high mass res olution) high mass accuracy and high sensitivity has become available. More over, in combination with electrospray ionization (ESI), not only high-th r ough put measurements via flow-injection ana lysis (FIA) but also coupling with separation techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC) or capillary electrophoresis (CE) is possible. Structural verificatio n by way of decomposing ions (MSn; n greater than or equal to 2) using a va riety of different dissociation techniques can be performed by FTICR-MS. Th is is the first review specifically covering applications of FTICR-MS in th e field of combinatorial chemistry. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.