I have been working with mass spectrometers for more than 30 years, and I am still not bored!
Considering that I like changes, I consider this fact to be good subjective proof of the dynamic power of mass spectrometry. This personal view is well-confirmed by the history of mass spectrometry during the last 40 years: the development of new ionization methods, new analyzers, new detectors, and the effective coupling with data systems and databases has brought mass spectrometry to practically all analytical fields, and has made mass spectrometry an essential tool in many research fields-fundamental and applications.
The journal readers from my generation will remember (surely not with pleasure!) the long time that was spent to ''count'' the mass spectra (i.e., to assign the m/z value to each peak) on ''evanescent'' photographic paper, and to reach and obtain mass resolution by iterative changes of all the instrumental settings. Surely nowadays the mass spectrometrist's life is much easier: the computer takes most of the responsibilities in instrumental management and data collection, leaving to the researcher more time to critically evaluate the scientific value of the results.
However, a new problem can arise; i.e., by considering the instrument merely as a box into which samples are injected and from which data are ejected. This picture is surely interesting (especially from the marketing point of view!), but it is somehow limiting. What I usually say to my students at the beginning of their thesis is: ''Please, don't consider the computer keyboard and the screen as the instrument. Mass spectrometry is something different. Use your fantasy to depict what is happening inside the mass spectrometer so that you will obtain more valid data and, overall, you will enjoy!''
Mass Spectrometry Reviews has played an important role in the development of mass spectrometry, by providing the scientific community with up-to-date, state-of-the-art reviews of the many different applications of mass spectrometry. This editorial is a good occasion for me to thank the editorial board of the journal and all of the review authors because they have allowed me to spend many interesting and pleasant hours to learn and to meditate on different topics.
Hence, it was for me a honor and a pleasure when Dom Desiderio invited me to act as a Guest Editor for a special issue of Mass Spectrometry Reviews. I contacted some of my research colleagues and asked them to write a review on their research. Surprisingly, many give a positive answer. You will see that all of the reviews that I have collected are from Italian researchers. This factor is due to two main reasons; the first because of the easier manuscript management in a ''local'' environment; and the second related to the opportunity to show some of the research activity that is present in Italy in the mass spectrometry field.