text: ESI interface for LC–MS systems was developed by Fenn and collaborators in 1988. This ion source/ interface can be used for the analysis of moderately polar and even very polar molecules (e.g., metabolites, xenobiotics, peptides, nucleotides, polysaccharides). The liquid eluate coming out of the LC column is directed into a metal capillary kept at 3 to 5 kV and is nebulized by a high-velocity coaxial flow of gas at the tip of the capillary, creating a fine spray of charged droplets in front of the entrance to the vacuum chamber. To avoid contamination of the vacuum system by buffers and salts, this capillary is usually perpendicularly located at the inlet of the MS system, in some cases with a counter-current of dry nitrogen in front of the entrance through which ions are directed by the electric field. In some sources, rapid droplet evaporation and thus maximum ion emission is achieved by mixing an additional stream of hot gas with the spray plume in front of the vacuum entrance. In other sources, the droplets are drawn through a heated capillary tube as they enter the vacuum, promoting droplet evaporation and ion emission. These methods of increasing droplet evaporation now allow the use of liquid flow rates of 1 - 2 mL/min to be used while still achieving efficient ionisation and high sensitivity. Thus while the use of 1 – 3 mm microbore columns and lower flow rates of 50 - 200 μl/min was commonly considered necessary for optimum operation, this limitation is no longer as important, and the higher column capacity of larger bore columns can now be advantageously employed with ESI LC–MS systems. Positively and negatively charged ions can be created by switching polarities, and it is possible to acquire alternate positive and negative mode spectra rapidly within the same LC run . While most large molecules (greater than MW 1500–2000) produce multiply charged ions in the ESI source, the majority of smaller molecules produce singly charged ions.