Edmond de Hofmann and Vincent Stroobant

2nd edition, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester (2001). ISBN 0-471-48565-9

Reviewed by A.I. Mallet, University of Greenwich, UK

The first edition of the English language version of de Hoffmann and Stroobant's volume was a very welcome event for all of us charged with teaching mass spectrometry to undergraduate and graduate students and to colleagues from other scientific disciplines. This new edition is even better. The book has been totally reset in a clearer and more readable type and many of the sections have been rewritten or expanded. These include the discussion of ion trap operation and its use for multi step tandem mass spectrometry. MALDI ionisation is more fully covered and many of the examples of application of techniques have been brought up to date. The inorganic and elemental analyst is also catered for, in a small way, with the inclusion of ICP, glow discharge and similar techniques. The book adopts a "classical" approach describing both old fashion magnetic analysers and newer systems though little mention been made of the latest hybrid analysers such as the "q-TOF" and trap-ICR instruments. The discussion of fragmentation is clear and helpful but more examples from CID of even electron species arising from ESI or ApCI sources would have been welcome.

A fairly rigorous account of the operation of quadrupolar devices is included but this is preceeded by a clear simple explanation of how the devices work; the thermodynamics of ionisation and gas-phase reactions are also well covered. As in the first edition, a useful set of problems and answers is included. A final section giving sources of information, including the growing number of Internet sites is included. This volume provides an excellent reference text for modern mass spectrometry at a reasonable cost, being available in both hard and soft back bindings and is to be recommended to students of chemistry and the biological sciences alike.