Ambient mass spectrometry is a powerful and rapidly growing new field that provides high sensitivity mass spectrometry directly from surfaces at ambient pressure.

There is now a rich evidence base in the published literature of the success of these methods for forensic analysis including: detection of explosives at ng levels; chemical composition of counterfeit pharmaceutical tablets, drugs of abuse detection from biological liquids such as urine and plasma; breath analysis of metabolites; imaging analysis for document verification and fingerprint identification.

Recent developments in miniaturised (shoe box sized) mass spectrometers have enabled these developments to be translated to portable on-scene detection and first responder usage. Although a growing amount of research has been devoted to exploring different applications, there are few studies investigating the basic parameters and underpinning metrology.

An understanding of these is crucial to develop the techniques as robust and reliable as required for significant uptake by industry. Here, we have approached the challenges in advancing the repeatability by developing a collaborative project between leading surface science and mass spectrometry groups.

This talk will illustrate the potential of ambient mass spectrometry for a range of application areas in forensics, personal care and biological analysis and show how NPL can contribute by developing the underpinning metrology to enable uptake within industry.