Mass Spectrometry

[on-screen: Mass spectrometry] Liver tissue can provide useful information about toxins in the body before death. Mass spectrometry can find a toxin that may be in the liver cell sample. Observe the preparation and results of the mass spectrmetric analysis. [on-screen: Tweezers are used to collect a sample of liver tissue from a petri dish. The liver tissue is placed in a small microtube. ] Step 1: Add the liver to a smll centrifgal tube. [on-screen: A bottle of reagent and a pipette is used to put reagent into the microtube with the liver tissue.] Step 2: Add a reagent to the tubes to release any hidden toxins from the liver cells. [on-screen: The microtube is placed into a large mass spectrometer.] Step 3: Place the microtubes into the mass spectrometer to reveal any chemicals in the liver tissue. [on-screen: The results of the spectrometric analysis show a graph with time on the x-axis and percentage on the y-axis. Benzoylecgonine shows at 30% between 1.6 and 1.7 seconds. Cocaethylene shows at 100% at 2.2 and 2.3 seconds. ] Step 4: Record the results of your mass spectrometric analysis.