Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

Imagine you have a big box of different colored balls and you want to find out what colors are inside. Sorting by hand would take too long, so you need a machine to help you.

This is where liquid chromatography comes in. It's like a special funnel that separates the balls into different groups based on size and shape. This way, all balls of the same color end up in the same group.

Next, you want to know exactly what shades of each color you have. This is where mass spectrometry comes in.

Mass spectrometry is like a special flashlight that shines a light on each ball and tells you what it's made of. Different materials light up in different ways, just like different colors of balls look different.

By combining liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry together, you can quickly sort and identify all the colors in your box of balls. The same process is used by scientists to identify the different chemicals in a liquid, such as drugs or proteins in the blood.