Food quality and safety is a vital public health issue, and it has become a major concern for people these days due to the presence of chemicals, toxins, and pathogens in food. As per the University of Rhode Island Department of Food Safety Education, about 33 million people fall ill because of foodborne illnesses every year in North America. Food contamination can originate from various sources, for example food safety is affected by the quality of water that is utilized in the processing and production of food. For maintaining the quality and safety of food, the presence of required microorganisms and the ones which may lead to spoilage in food is mandatory. Hence, food companies and government authorities use various analytical techniques for monitoring contamination to detect and mitigate risks. Due to this, the demand for microbial identification devices, specifically those based on mass spectroscopy, is increasing, as this technique provides a versatile approach in testing food samples along with both qualitative and quantitative data.
Mass spectrometry technique is utilized to quantify and identify molecules in complex and simple mixtures. The identification and ascertainment are done by separating the ions based on their mass to charge ratio which is measured by making use of a mass spectrum.
As per a study conducted by the P&S Intelligence, the global mass spectrometry market size reached a value of $4,948.3 million in 2015 and is predicted to register a CAGR of 8.1% in the coming years. Various applications of mass spectrometry include proteomics, clinical testing, environmental research, and drug discovery and development. Among all these, mass spectrometry was utilized the most for drug discovery & development during 2012–2015, as it helps in determining the structure of metabolites and drugs. The fastest growth in demand is expected to be witnessed by the application of proteomics.
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Several end users of mass spectrometry include hospitals, academic & research institutes, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences & biotechnology sector. During the period 2012–2015, the largest demand for mass spectrometry was created by the pharmaceutical firms and the situation is going to remain the same in the coming years as well. Over 80% of a medicinal product is made up of excipients, moreover, as these excipients are administered in patients, establishing their purity is of utmost importance. Therefore, to enhance the quality of pharmaceutical excipients, the International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council worked together with the Pharmaceutical Quality Group, the European Fine Chemicals Group, and the European Association of Chemical Distributors to develop a certification scheme for excipient suppliers. The legislation formulated by these organizations enforces the use of mass spectrometry for screening impurities in pharmaceutical excipients.
