Advances in proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS): applications in exhaled breath analysis, food science, and atmospheric chemistry.

This report discusses advances in instrumentation based on soft chemical ionization followed by high-resolution real-time mass spectrometry (HR-MS), specifically in relation to developments in proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) technology. It is part of a Journal of Breath Research series that describes recent technical developments in breath related research relevant to human health and analytical chemistry from scientific conferences. Herein we discuss the current state of PTR-MS as presented at the 8th International Conference on Proton Transfer Reaction - Mass Spectrometry held in Innsbruck, Austria, February 2-8, 2019, attended by the authors.