Off-line and on-line liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry methods with immobilized bio-macromolecules for drug screening from natural sources

Natural products are an important source of major compounds in drug discovery. Currently, rapid screening and identification of bioactive compounds is a challenge due to the complicated chemical composition of natural products. Affinity screening methods based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry have seen increasing interest in the past few years. In this review, the various strategies are classified into off-line and on-line modes. The principles and applications of these screening methods such as magnetic nanoparticles, affinity solid-phase extraction, immobilized liposome chromatography and cell membrane chromatography are introduced. This review covers the research advances of LC-MS based screening methods from 2019 to mid 2022, discussing their advantages and disadvantages, and providing an outlook for the future of this field.