TY - CHAP AU - Decloedt Anneleen AU - Van Landschoot Anita AU - Vanhaecke Lynn ED - Mahmood Aliofkhazraei Y1 - 2017-06-07 PY - 2017 T1 - Mass Spectrometry for the Detection of Endogenous Steroids and Steroid Abuse in (Race) Horses and Human Athletes N2 - Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that can be used for the structural characterization and quantification of a wide range of molecules. The technique is extensively used by chemists for the analysis of small and volatile organic compounds. Mass spectrometry has long been an important technique for the identification of materials ranging from pure compounds to complex mixtures. Mass spectrometry can be used to determine molecular weight of compounds or using different ionization conditions, can provide more structural details through the analysis of fragmentation patterns. This level of detail can be attained for pure compounds and some mixtures. Mass spectrometry can also be combined with separation techniques such as gas chromatography or liquid chromatography to allow more complex mixtures to be examined. These hyphenated techniques provide a range of options for the characterization of complex materials. BT - Mass Spectrometry SP - Ch. 8 UR - https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.68593 DO - 10.5772/intechopen.68593 SN - 978-953-51-3224-0 PB - IntechOpen CY - Rijeka Y2 - 2024-03-29 ER -