Wilm, MatthiasMatthiasWilm2013-04-152013-04-152011 by Th2011-05-19Molecular & Cellular Proteomicshttp://hdl.handle.net/10197/4248Electrospray ionization is today the most widely used ionization technique in chemical and bio-chemical analysis. Interfaced with a mass spectrometer it allows to investigate the molecular composition of liquid samples. With electrospray a large variety of chemical substances can be ionized. There is no limitation in mass which enables even the investigation of large non-covalent protein complexes. Its high ionization efficiency profoundly changed bio-molecular sciences because proteins can be identified and quantified on trace amounts in a high throughput fashion. This review article focusses mainly on the exploration of the underlying ionization mechanism. Some ionization characteristics are discussed which are related to this mechanism. Typical spectra of peptides, proteins and non-covalent complexes are shown and the quantitative character of spectra is highlighted. Finally the possibilities and limitations in measuring the association constant of bivalent non-covalent complexes are described. enThis research was originally published in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. Michaela Scigelova, Martin Hornshaw, Anastassios Giannakopulos and Alexander Makarov. Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. 2011. 10:M111.009431. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyBiophysicsComputer modelingMass spectrometryQuantificationSequencing MSElectrosprayIonization methodsJournal ArticleForthcoming10.1074/mcp.R111.0094072013-02-23https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/