Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) is an instrument which seperates ionised molecules in an electric field against a counterflow of neutral drift gas at atmospheric pressure. Heavier ionised molecules will collide more often with the drift gas, and hence move more slowly in the electric field compared to lighter molecules. IMS has high sensitivity, and is useful in fingerprinting applications, and can be used as a stand alone instrument or coupled with a mass spectrometer. As the number applications of IMS has increased in the past few years, this paper reviews its use in food safety and authenticity applications.
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