Characterization of solid counterfeit drug samples by desorption electrospray ionization and direct-analysis-in-real-time coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Vacuum is not the limit: direct analysis in real time (DART), a new MS ionization method, allows probing of pharmaceuticals under atmospheric pressure, thus bypassing lengthy sample preparation steps and enhancing throughput. DART allows rapid screening of solid drugs at almost constant temperature which decreases errors in mass measurement and improves the identification of potentially harmful unknowns. This is important for identifying counterfeit drugs (fake hologram shown).