Good practice or not?

As mass spectrometer manufacturers make their instruments easier to operate, there are those who think that less skilled mass spectrometrists or analytical chemists can be assigned to them. But as many of you will know, this can lead to problems. Now, Mark Duncan from the University of Colorado has addressed these issues in a tutorial in the Journal of Mass Spectrometry, in which he sets out the "important aspects and parameters one should consider for best practices in mass spectrometry."

After outlining the factors that should be considered in designing an analytical method, he illustrates what can happen in the real world with examples from the literature. One telling example is the controversial link between the onset of neurodegenerative diseases and the presence of beta-methylamino-L-alanine found in cycad seeds which has been established at least partially on the basis of bad science.