An intensity function combining peak intensities in the same manner as that in which equilibrium constants combine ion activities is suggested for characterization of enantioselectivity by fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry. The intensity function combined with the use of two internal standards, one similar to the host, one to the guest compounds is shown to give excellent results: The enantioselectivity is better by up to factor of 10 than that obtained using one internal standard only, and its reproducibility is ca. a factor of 10 better, than that obtained using relative peak intensities (the RPI method). © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 2 March 1997; Revised 14 April 1997; Accepted 14 April 1997 Rapid. Commun. Mass Spectrom. 11, 889-896 (1997 Mass spectrometry is not normally concerned with distinction between enantiomers (optically active compounds whose molecular structures are non-superimposable mirror images of one another, labelled by D or L according to their optical rotation, by + or -in the original Fischer notation, or by R or S in the CahnPrelog-Ingold system). These are, in fact, distinguishable only through probing with plane-polarized light or through interactions with reactants which also contain chiral centres. In the present work possible approaches for enantiomer distinction by mass spectrometry are summarized and one of them is improved.The first example in which enantiomers were distinguished by mass spectrometry was described 20 years ago in the case of diisopropyl tartrate.1 In the electron impact spectrum proton-bound tartrate dimers were observed, probably formed by self chemical ionization. There are four possible forms (R,R; S,S; R,S and S,R). Among these R,R plus S,S form an enantiomeric pair, having identical chemical and physical properties. Likewise, R,S and S,R form another enantiomeric pair. The 'homochiral' dimers (R,R or S,S) are diastereomers of the 'heterochiral' ones (R,S or S,R), and are physically and chemically distinguishable from either or both members of the other enantiomeric pair by ordinary means (melting points, chemical reactivity, spectroscopy, fast-atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry, etc.). It was found that, in the mass spectra, ion intensities of the 'homo-chiral' tartrate dimers were higher than those of the 'hetero-chiral' ones, indicating higher stability of the former. Following this initial study the tartrate system has been studied in detail 2-9 using deuterium labelled compounds. Ion intensities were combined to yield what were termed 'relative stability constants'. [4][5][6] Although this approach presents various fundamental problems (to be discussed in detail below), and equilibrium conditions could not be guaranteed, the results were promising. Tartrates have been studied both by chemical ionization (CI) 4-6 and by fast-atom bombardment, 7,9 the two techniques yielding very similar 'relative stability constants'.Chemical ionization using optically active reagent gases have often been used for other compounds as well.2,10-15 A...