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Quantitative Analysis
This appendix describes some of the basic principles and terminology of quantitative
analysis1.
Contents
• About Quantitative Analysis
• Considering the Variables of Quantitative Analysis by LC/MS and
MS/MS
• Quantitative Analysis Techniques
• Sample Types
About Quantitative Analysis
In some applications, such as a clinical trial, you might be seeking the maximum possible
accuracy from your measurements. Time and cost of analysis are less important than achieving
the highest possible standards in precision and accuracy. This process of measuring the
amount of a particular component in a sample is called quantitative analysis.
In other applications, such as in trace analysis, you might only want to estimate the quantity of
a component. It might be sufficient to know that the component is present at a level either
significantly higher or significantly lower than a defined threshold. For example, knowing
whether a patient has overdosed 15 or 20 times above a prescribed limit is generally not as
important as simply knowing that the patient exceeded the limit. Such cases would require a
rapid measurement rather than a precise one. This form of measurement is generally called
semi-quantitative analysis.
Quantitative analysis consists of the following steps:
• Preparing samples
• Developing a suitable chromatographic method
• Calibrating the mass spectrometer’s response
1
Thermo Scientific
For further information about the principles of quantitative analysis, refer to Mass Spectrometry: Principles and
Applications; de Hoffman, E., Charette, J., Stroobant, V.; Wiley: New York, 1996; and Introduction to Mass
Spectrometry, 3rd ed.; Watson, J.T., Lippincott-Raven: Philadelphia, PA, 1997.
Watson TSQ Module User Guide
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