Mass spectrometry applications in drug discovery

The course aims at providing theoretical knowledge on the analytical approaches applied in mass spectrometry (MS) to the characterization of small molecules, peptides and proteins involved in the drug discovery process. A short theoretical introduction on MS techniques (such as ESI-MS and high resolution MS) will be given, followed by an overview of their main related applications. In particular, the characterization of small molecules and and bio-conjugates and the identification of naturallly occurring compounds. In addition to theoretical fundamentals, selected lab experiences will focus on sample preparation and analysis through the appication of liquid chromatography to MS, followed by data analysis.