Applications of Liquid-Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry in Natural Products Research: Tropane Alkaloids as a Case Study

In the simplest form of our research, we are trying to discover new molecules in plants. Plants are chemically complex and some of these chemicals may be medicinally useful. We're especially interested in finding new alkaloids, which are certain molecules that contain nitrogen.

Recently, we have so many new and different alkaloid instruments and techniques available, so people discover more and more new molecules every day. With these instruments, we can answer questions like what chemicals are present, when are they present, in what part of the plant can they be found. Mass spectrometry, as an analytical technique, has really improved over the past 50 years.