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The origins of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization sources combined with mass spectrometry can be found in the 1960s in studies of ions in flames and of ion chemistry in corona discharges up to atmospheric pressure .The first application of APCI combined with mass spectrometry for trace chemical analysis was by the Franklin GNO Corporation who in 1971 developed an instrument combining APCI with ion mobility and mass spectrometry . Horning, Carroll and their co-workers in the 1970s at the Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX) demonstrated the advantages of APCI for coupling gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) to a mass spectrometer. High sensitivity and simple mass spectra were shown in these studies. For LC-MS, the LC eluate was vaporized and ionized in a heated metal block. Initially, a 63Ni foil was used as a source of electrons to perform ionization. In 1975, a corona discharge electrode was developed, providing a larger dynamic response range. APCI with the corona discharge electrode became the model for modern commercially available APCI interfaces.

In the late 1970s an APCI mass spectrometer system (the TAGA, for Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer), mounted in a van for mobile operation, was introduced by SCIEX , providing high sensitivity for monitoring polar organics in ambient air in real time. In 1981 a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer version was produced, allowing real-time direct air monitoring by APCI-MS/MS. A similar platform was used for the SCIEX AROMIC system (part of the CONDOR contraband detection system developed together with British Aerospace) for the detection of drugs, explosives and alcohol in shipping containers at border crossings, by sampling the interior airspace.

In the mid-1980s and into the early 1990s, the advantages of performing LC/MS with APCI and with electrospray, both atmospheric pressure ionization techniques, began to capture the attention of the analytical community. Together they have dramatically expanded the role of mass spectrometry in the pharmaceutical industry for both drug development and drug discovery applications. The sensitivity of APCI combined with the specificity of LC-MS and LC-MS/MS often makes it the method of choice for the quantification of drugs and and drug metabolites.

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