MALDI-TOF is a form of what type of analytical technique?

MALDI-TOF is a form of what type of analytical technique?

• A. Chromatography
• B. Mass spectrometry
• C. Immunoassay
• D. Nucleic acid sequencing

Answer: (B)

Mass spectrometry. MALDI-TOF uses a matrix-assisted laser to ionize a sample and then measures the time it takes ions to fly to a detector, which corresponds to their mass-to-charge ratios. This creates a protein fingerprint that can identify organisms rapidly by matching to a database. It isn’t chromatography, which separates components on a column; nor an immunoassay, which relies on antibody-antigen binding; nor nucleic acid sequencing, which reads the order of bases in DNA or RNA.

Mass spectrometry. MALDI-TOF uses a matrix-assisted laser to ionize a sample and then measures the time it takes ions to fly to a detector, which corresponds to their mass-to-charge ratios. This creates a protein fingerprint that can identify organisms rapidly by matching to a database. It isn’t chromatography, which separates components on a column; nor an immunoassay, which relies on antibody-antigen binding; nor nucleic acid sequencing, which reads the order of bases in DNA or RNA.