About: Molecular fragmentation methods

Molecular fragmentation (mass spectrometry), or molecular dissociation, occurs both in nature and in experiments. It occurs when a complete molecule is rendered into smaller fragments by some energy source, usually ionizing radiation. The resulting fragments can be far more chemically reactive than the original molecule, as in radiation therapy for cancer, and are thus a useful field of inquiry. Different molecular fragmentation methods have been built to break apart molecules, some of which are listed below.