LC-MS

Science & Engineering abbreviation · Chemistry

LC-MS
Stands forLiquid chromatography-mass spectrometry
CategoriesScience & Engineering

LC-MS stands for Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, a chemistry abbreviation.

Analytical pairing of liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry, used for compounds that are too large, polar or heat-sensitive for gas chromatography, such as drugs, peptides, metabolites and many pesticides. Tandem instruments, written LC-MS/MS, add a second stage of mass analysis for highly selective measurement.

Example: Plasma drug levels were measured by a validated LC-MS/MS method with a 1 ng/mL limit of quantitation.

Usage notes

The breakthrough that made LC-MS routine was electrospray ionization, developed for biomolecules by John Fenn, who shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Also written LC/MS. In clinical laboratories LC-MS/MS has largely replaced immunoassays for measuring vitamin D, steroid hormones and immunosuppressant drugs.

More chemistry abbreviations

  • HOMO – Highest occupied molecular orbital
  • HPLC – High-performance liquid chromatography
  • ICP-MS – Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
  • IPA – Isopropyl alcohol
  • IR – Infrared spectroscopy
  • IUPAC – International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
  • LD50 – Lethal dose, 50%
  • LDPE – Low-density polyethylene
  • LUMO – Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital
  • M – Molar (moles per liter)
  • MALDI – Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization
  • Me – Methyl group

See all 106 chemistry abbreviations →