Interpretation of mass spectra

A computer programme is described which calculates the mass numbers and the relative intensities of each of the lines in the cluster formed in a mass spectrometer from a single type of fragment ion which contains one or more polyisotopic elements. Many elements such as B, C, S, Cl and Br possess more than one naturally occurring isotope, and the relative abundances of the various isotopes are known. A whole series of possible fragment ions may be calculated quite readily, and the results, which are printed numerically and in the form of a histogram, facilitate the interpretation of mass spectra. Trial data, a FORTRAN listing of the programme, and a sample of the output are given. The programme requires approximately 17K of fast core, and should be implemented without difficulty on any computer with a FORTRAN IV compiler.