atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (apci) is an ionization method used in mass spectrometry which utilizes gas-phase ion-molecule reactions at atmospheric pressure (10 pa), commonly coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc). apci is a soft ionization method similar to chemical ionization where primary ions are produced on a solvent spray. the main usage of apci is for polar and relatively less polar thermally stable compounds with molecular weight less than 1500 da. the application of apci with hplc has gained a large popularity in trace analysis detection such as steroids, pesticides and also in pharmacology for drug metabolites.