Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

Orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (oa-TOFMS) is a technology that was brought forward at a very good time to coincide with the exponential growth in functional genomics (proteomics). It allows the detection and identification of minute amounts of proteins and other molecules) and thus the invention represents an enabling technology for the Life Sciences. More and more researchers in molecular biology are relying on mass spectrometry (MS) and oa-TOF is now an essential tool for many labs. Beyond this, it is not possible to say with absolute certainty why the paper is so highly cited but it may be because it offers a comprehensive explanation of how the technology works as well as how it has been used. We wrote the paper to help scientists new to TOFMS to come to grips with the important concepts. Since our group was one of the main pioneers of the technology (Dodonov's and later Standing's groups have also had a large impact on the field) there may be an element of credibility in the paper that encourages readers to refer back to it regularly. It is a substantial paper totaling 43 journal pages so there are many parts to refer to when citing.

  Does it describe a new discovery or new methodology that's useful to others?

Yes - most definitely (see above).

  Is it a condensation of previous literature on the subject?

Yes - the history of the technique and ALL its applications are covered comprehensively (unlike shorter reviews).

  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

The paper describes in detail how the principles of a very successful new technology for fast, sensitive and very selective molecular analysis were first discovered in the 1960s and then promptly forgotten because the supporting technologies needed to realize the benefits were not available. In the 80s two groups independently rediscovered the principles and realized them. Our group emphasized the generic advantages of the technology and recognized the convergence of the concepts with developments in the facilitating technologies of high speed timing electronics and computing. Our group has worked since then on increasing and explaining those advantages. During the 90s a number of instrument companies (with a strong lead from Micromass) have developed the core technology into robust commercial instruments that have for the last 6 years or so been used to give science a powerful new capability for investigating the molecular basis of life processes including the mechanism of diseases (e.g., cancer) and insights into drug design and drug action. The principles and work described in the paper are therefore of considerable scientific and technological value with significant socioeconomic impact.