In a six-minute video, I explain how liquid chromatography works in combination with mass spectrometry to detect and quantify targeted molecules such as pesticides. This same technique can also be used to detect hormone disruptors, plasticizer chemicals and many other chemicals.

The liquid chromatography separates chemicals by time, where the mass spectrometry instrument identifies molecules by mass. Every molecule, of course, has a specific mass that’s derived by adding up the individual masses of the elements found in the molecule.

I filmed this video at CWC Labs, and as you’ll see, we’re currently running both a “single quad” mass spec instrument and a mass spec time-of-flight instrument, both connected to their own “LC stacks” (liquid chromatography front-ends).