Applications of Mass Spectrometry in Textile Analysis: An Overview

Mass spectrometry (MS) stands as a pivotal tool for chemical analysis in the textile industry, capable of scrutinizing the vast majority of reported harmful chemicals. With the ever-increasing number of banned chemicals in textiles, there is a pressing need for a more systematic compilation of relevant literature on MS utilization to identify and quantify harmful substances in textiles. This article comprehensively reviews the role of MS in textile analysis over the past two decades, encompassing a wide range of sample preparation techniques, such as energy-assisted extraction, solid-phase microextraction, liquid-phase microextraction, and QuEChERS. Furthermore, it delves into MS techniques, such as gas chromatography–MS, liquid chromatography–MS, inductively coupled plasma–MS, ion mobility spectrometry–MS, and ambient ionization MS. Moreover, it offers a brief glimpse into the future of MS development in this field, highlighting ongoing research into additional sample preparation techniques for detecting hazardous chemicals in textiles. Notably, it underscores the growing interest in ambient ionization MS and the coupling of chromatography with high-resolution MS.