Browse MS/MS spectrum, structure, and acquisition data
Browse MS/MS commercial peptide data.
Library search unknown MS/MS spectrum.
NIST23 now available!
The NIST MS/MS Library 2023
is a collection of MS/MS Spectra and search software.
It is included in the complete NIST MS 2023
database (of EI, MS/MS, and GC data), but the MS/MS
portion can also be purchased separately, as described here.
The search software is based on the widely used NIST MS Search.
Main Features
This product is a subset of the NIST Standard Reference Database 1A
NIST/EPA/NIH MASS SPECTRAL LIBRARY (NIST 2023), and the MS/MS database
has also been expanded for 2023.
It also includes the NIST MASS SPECTRAL SEARCH program version 3.0
for use with Microsoft® Windows™.
Statistics
NIST 2023 Detailed Stats:
Small Molecule HRAM* MS/MS Library:hr_msms_nist
========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Total 49,590 210,195 1,934,658
Beam Type Collision Cell 49,145 157,330 1,735,530
Ion Trap 46,471 186,392 199,128
Small Molecule Low Resolution MS/MS Library:lr_msms_nist
========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Total 49,865 330,358 433,692
Beam Type Collision Cell 3,346 5,751 64,137
Ion Trap 49,113 328,503 369,555
Small Molecule APCI** High Resolution MS/MS Library:apci_msms_nist
========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Beam Type Collision Cell 561 1,121 5714
All MS/MS libraries combined
=========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Total 51,501 399,267 2,374,064
Beam Type Collision Cell 50,285 160,473 1,805,381
Ion Trap 49,561 380,654 568,683
*HRAM: High Resolution Acurate Mass
**APCI: Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization
History of the releases:
========================
Release Number of Number of Software
Year spectra(MS/MS) ions (MS/MS) Version
2023 2,374,064 399,267 3.0
2020 1,320,389 185,608 2.4
2017 652,475 123,881 2.3
2014 234,284 45,298 2.2
2012 121,586 15,180 2.0g
2011 95,409 12,568 2.0f
2008 14,802 5,308
2005 5,191 1,920
Older NIST 2020 Detailed Stats:
NIST 2020 Detailed Stats:
Small Molecule HRAM* MS/MS Library:hr_msms_nist
========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Total 27,840 94,472 1,026,712
Beam Type Collision Cell 27,623 88,380 946,309
Ion Trap 25,472 79,529 80,403
Small Molecule Low Resolution MS/MS Library:lr_msms_nist
========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Total 28,559 163,512 215,649
Beam Type Collision Cell 2,799 3,863 34,589
Ion Trap 27,824 162,028 181,060
Small Molecule APCI** High Resolution MS/MS Library:apci_msms_nist
========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Beam Type Collision Cell 246 605 3,555
Biological Peptide MS/MS Library:biopep_msms_nist (commercially available peptides)#
================================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Total 1,904 6,803 90,244
Beam Type Collision Cell 1,814 5,637 77,182
Ion Trap 1,828 6,422 13,062
All MS/MS libraries combined
=========================
#compounds #ions #spectra
Total 30,999 185,608 1,320,389
Beam Type Collision Cell 29,890 95,175 1,048,069
Ion Trap 29,444 173,890 272,320
*HRAM: High Resolution Acurate Mass
**APCI: Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization
#Also contains small peptides from hr_msms_nist and lr_msms_nist
Older NIST 2017 Detailed Stats:
NIST 2017 Detailed Stats:
MS/MS library nist_msms (small molecules, di and tri peptides)
========================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 411,294 12,728 34,517
Ion Trap 163,532 12,992 114,925
Total 574,826 13,808 118,082
MS/MS peptide library nist_msms2 (commercially available peptides)
================================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 77,182 1,814 5,637
Ion Trap 13,062 1,828 6,422
Total 90,244 1,904 6,803
MS/MS libraries combined
=========================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 475,881 14,073 39,158
Ion Trap 176,594 14,351 120,346
Total 652,475 15,243 123,881
*Collision Cell refers to a 'beam-type' Collision Cell
**Also contains small peptides from nist_msms
MS/MS library nist_msms (small molecules, di and tri peptides)
========================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 70,491 4,210 6,530
Ion Trap 9,930 4,806 9,069
Total 80,421 5,999 11,634
MS/MS peptide library nist_msms2 (commercially available peptides)
================================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 38,187 899 2,702
Ion Trap 2,978 917 2,978
Total 41,165 1,000 3,546
MS/MS libraries combined
=========================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 108,678 5,109 9,232
Ion Trap 12,908 5,723 12,047
Total 121,586 6,999 15,180
Older NIST 2011 Detailed Stats:
MS/MS library nist_msms (small molecules, di and tri peptides)
==============================================================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 55,640 3,368 5,272
Ion Trap 8,871 4,277 8,012
Total 64,511 5,216 10,205
MS/MS peptide library nist_msms2 (commercially available peptides)
==============================================================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 29,704 509 1,900
Ion Trap 1,194 351 1,182
Total 30,898 627 2,363
MS/MS libraries combined
==============================================================
#spectra #compounds #ions
collision cell 85,344 3,877 7,172
Ion Trap 10,065 4,628 9,194
Total 95,409 5,843 12,568
Here is breakdown by mass:
Many other NIST MS/MS Peptide libraries are available for download free of charge
at http://peptide.nist.gov .
System requirements:
This MS search program is a 32-bit Windows application and thus requires
Windows XP SP3, Vista, Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10.
2 GB disk space.
New features of the 2017 program and database
MS/MS Library Expansion: Greatly expanded NIST 17 MS/MS Library. Spectra include metabolites, peptides (biologically active peptides and all di-peptides and tryptic tri-peptides), contaminants, metabolites, lipids and more.
New HiRes MS/MS Hybrid Search type.
Uses the logic of normal searching and the logic of neutral loss searching.
Types of Any Peak search: HiRes peak and HiRes loss
Display additional MS/MS information in hit lists
Edit accurate peak m/z, intensities and peak annotations in the built-in mass spectrum editor
MS/MS Precursor m/z search
Precursor type constraint. Restrict MS/MS spectra in search results to specific precursor types, exclude isotopic precursors, display MS3 and higher spectra in addition to MS2. Works with NIST 17 nist_msms library. Rejects spectra which do not have correct Precursor type syntax. This is in addition to other filters for MS/MS spectra to limit hits by charge, precursor type, instrument, msn, and mass accuracy.
Spectrum polarity filter
See What's New in the main NIST web page for additional details on these changes.
New features of the 2014 program and database:
New MS/MS spectra include metabolites, drugs, peptides (biologically
active peptides and all di-peptides and tryptic tri-peptides),
surfactants, contaminants, sugars, lipids and more.
A new MS/MS search for small molecules
Improved ability to identify compounds with a few dominant peaks
- a common situation for Tandem MS.
More robust scoring for spectra acquired on imperfectly-tuned instruments.
Import and HiRes search of ‘in-source’ tandem spectra, which do not
include a defined m/z of the precursor ion.
To import these spectra, select "In-source spectra" in Spectrum
Import Options.
For more details on in-source spectra, search for “in-source” in the
MS Search help.
New Spectrum import Options:
Control the number of decimal places in the input m/z;
Set peak intensity threshold;
Set Prepend/Overwrite/Ask automatic mass spectrum import option.
Exact Mass Search and Constraint allows searching for exact mass of
a precursor using its mass or exact m/z of a product ion.
It takes into account the presence or absence of an electron,
adducts or losses; accepts uncertainty in ppm or millimass units,
and allows searching for isotopic or monoisotopic peaks.
Ability to use accurate mass to search exact fragment ion mass values
in NIST 14 libraries mainlib, replib, and nist_msms using Exact Mass
peak type in the Any Peaks Search.
New MS/MS Instrument Type constraint allows displaying in the hit list
only spectra measured on Ion Trap, Q-TOF/HCD, Triple quadrupole or Other
instrument types. These selections may be combined.
New Mass Spectrum Import Options
control the number of decimal places in the input m/z
set peak intensity threshold
set Prepend/Overwrite/Ask automatic mass spectrum import option
Menu selection "Options" / "Best matching only" displays in the
Lib. Search Hit List only the best matching spectrum of a compound.
In case of MS/MS search, spectra are considered as belonging to the
same compound if they have identical names or CAS Registry numbers.
In case of peptide names represented as sequence of amino acids and
a charge, both the name and modifications are compared.
There is also a "Best matching only" button on the Lib. Search
window tool bar.
A small portion of spectra have more than one CAS Registry number.
Each CAS r.n. may be used in CAS r.n. search
Optionally displayed columns Number of synonyms and Number in
other databases and a possibility to sort by them.
Sorting Spec List alphabetically.
Handling and searching up to 127 MS libraries instead of 16.
Max. number of spectra in a library has been increased from
786,420 to 1,048,560.
Search for words in mass spectrum text information window
(use context menu displayed on right mouse click.)
Optional exclusion of Homologs from the results of Structure
Similarity Search (Library Search Options, Search tab).
Import spectra from mzXML and mzData files in addition to mgf, msp,
dta, pkl, JCAMP, etc.
Import MS/MS spectra from JCAMP files. See file MSMS_JCAMP_Example.JDX
An alternative peak matching method has been added to improve the
reliability of the score when searching noisy or high resolution MS/MS spectra
Full compatibility with most recent NIST Peptide MS/MS libraries.
Copy selected lines from Hit List or Spec List into Windows Clipboard
as tab-delimited Unicode text; this may be conveniently pasted into
Excel. To copy, press Ctrl-K.
Tags for searching in Spectrum Text Info have been added to Tags
in Comment Constraint.
When a Tag from the "Comment" field is displayed separately, its
display in the "Comment" field is suppressed.
New features of the 2011/2012 program and database:
New MS/MS spectra include metabolites, drugs, peptides (biologically
active peptides and all di-peptides and tryptic tri-peptides),
surfactants, contaminants, sugars, lipids and more.
Exact Mass Search and Constraint allows searching for exact mass of
a precursor using its mass or exact m/z of a product ion.
It takes into account the presence or absence of an electron,
adducts or losses; accepts uncertainty in ppm or millimass units,
and allows searching for isotopic or monoisotopic peaks.
Ability to use accurate mass to search exact fragment ion mass values
in NIST 11 libraries mainlib, replib, and nist_msms using Exact Mass
peak type in the Any Peaks Search.
New MS/MS Instrument Type constraint allows displaying in the hit list
only spectra measured on Ion Trap, Q-TOF, Triple quadrupole or Other
instrument types. These selections may be combined.
Menu selection "Options" / "Best matching only" displays in the
Lib. Search Hit List only the best matching spectrum of a compound.
In case of MS/MS search, spectra are considered as belonging to the
same compound if they have identical names or CAS Registry numbers.
In case of peptide names represented as sequence of amino acids and
a charge, both the name and modifications are compared.
There is also a "Best matching only" button on the Lib. Search
window tool bar.
A small portion of spectra have more than one CAS Registry number.
Each CAS r.n. may be used in CAS r.n. search
Optionally displayed columns Number of synonyms and Number in
other databases and a possibility to sort by them.
Sorting Spec List alphabetically.
Handling and searching up to 127 MS libraries instead of 16.
Max. number of spectra in a library has been increased from
786,420 to 1,048,560.
Search for words in mass spectrum text information window
(use context menu displayed on right mouse click.)
Optional exclusion of Homologs from the results of Structure
Similarity Search.
Import spectra from mzXML and mzData files in addition to mgf, msp,
dta, pkl, JCAMP, etc.
An alternative peak matching method has been added to improve the
reliability of the score when searching noisy MS/MS spectra
Full compatibility with most recent NIST Peptide MS/MS libraries.
Copy selected lines from Hit List or Spec List into Windows Clipboard
as tab-delimited Unicode text; this may be conveniently pasted into
Excel.
Tags for searching in Spectrum Text Info have been added to Tags
in Comment Constraint.
When a Tag from the "Comment" field is displayed separately, its
display in the "Comment" field is suppressed.
Some noteworthy features of the program and database are:
MS/MS browsing window and MS/MS library
New type of mass spectrum search: MS/MS Identity search for
searching for MS/MS spectra in MS/MS libraries.
The updated Lib2NIST converter is a tool for creating MS/MS libraries.
To create a MS/MS library, run Lib2NIST and check "MS/MS spectra only"
option.
For the MS/MS search to work, the MS/MS spectra must contain precursor
m/z values.
The previously named Similarity "MS\MS" search has been renamed to
Similarity "MS/MS in EI" mass spectral library search.
Structure searching - the program will find all chemical structures
similar to the structure of the search spectrum.
The searching can be done using structural data from the NIST MS
database, from the user database or from a structure drawn in most
chemical drawing packages. A structure may be exported to chemical
drawing software.
The Structure similarity search algorithm has been changed: now it
Includes homologue recognition that generates a match factor of 1000
for homologs. Homologs may be excluded from the hit list.
You will need to rebuild structure search databases in user libraries
(as you usually need to do after editing a user library containing
structures.)
Searching in the Contributor/Comment spectral records and extracting
tagged fields into the displayed spectrum text information.
Drag and Drop - Data can be dragged and dropped between windows.
Point mouse to the name of the compound in the spectrum plot
window, press and hold the left mouse button, drag the spectrum
and drop it into Spec List or Compare Window.
User Library Structures - This feature has been present for some time,
but many are unaware of it.
Compare Views - There are a number of different ways for you to
visually compare two spectra.
Direct interaction with a number of chemical drawing packages -
the clipboard can be used with some of them, most can be used by
use of intermediate files.
The NIST MS Search program takes advantages of many normal Windows
conventions. Look at the context sensitive options on the right mouse
button click and on buttons at the top of the window. Look also for
"Keyboard shortcut keys" in the index to the Help or search Help
for "short cut keys"
Thermodynamics-based MS Interpreter program version 2.0.
A spectrum with a structure may be sent to MS Interpreter by
right-clicking the windows with a mass spectrum and structure
and selecting Send To MS Interpreter. A spectrum and/or structure
may be pasted or dragged and dropped into the Mass Spectrum or
Structure panes of MS Interpreter.
List of Instruments
The small molecules section of the MS/MS library was acquired on the following instruments. (Statistics compiled from NIST 14)
Links contains the series of articles titled
"NIST 11: What's New and What Value Does it Offer?". The latter articles
in this series describe the use of NIST11 for MS/MS searching.
You can get some idea of the operation from the
NIST MS full version demo,
but that only contains sample EI spectra, not MS/MS spectra.
You may instead download the
NIST peptide demo,
which contains a sample MS/MS library of peptides (but not small molecules).
See also screenshots
of the small molecule MS/MS library library in NIST MS/MS.