Advancements in pretreatment strategies: A comprehensive overview of desalination techniques for enhanced mass spectrometry analysis

Mass spectrometry is a highly sensitive and precise analytical technique widely utilized in biomedical research, drug development, and environmental monitoring. Nonetheless, before mass spectrometry analysis, complex matrix samples frequently harbor numerous salts, which may compromise the stability and accuracy of mass spectrometry signals. Hence, it is imperative to employ effective desalting techniques, which serve as critical pretreatment steps in sample preparation for mass spectrometry analysis. While numerous scholars have developed desalting techniques, a comprehensive overview of such techniques is lacking. This paper provides a summary of desalination methods for mass spectrometry analysis developed since the twenty-first century (including extraction techniques, chromatography, ion exchange, crystallography, ambient ionization mass spectrometry and desalting agents, etc.), along with their principles, advantages, and disadvantages. Furthermore, recent research advancements and technological enhancements are discussed to introduce novel ideas and methodologies for sample desalting as a pretreatment step before mass spectrometry analysis. Against the backdrop of the growing importance of precision medicine and environmental monitoring, the continuous improvement of desalination technology will promote its wide application in areas such as clinical diagnosis, food safety testing, and environmental pollution assessment.