Development of Gas Chromatographic Mass Spectrometry

Gas chromatographic mass spectrometry is now widely used for the quantitation and identification of organic compounds in almost any imaginable sample. These applications include the measurement of chlorinated dioxins in soil samples, the identification of illicit drugs in human blood, and the quantitation of accelerants in arson investigations, to name just a few. How did GC/MS get so popular? It turns out that it required parallel developments in mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, and computing and that no one person invented the technique. This Perspective traces this history from the 1950s until today.