In this talk, I will cover the recent research activities of my laboratory dedicated to instrumental analysis. The main messages of the talk are: (i) mass spectrometry is a universal tool for monitoring dynamic processes, such as extraction of biological samples; (ii) hydrogel micropatch array probe is a convenient non-invasive tool for sampling traces of metabolites from skin surface; (iii) fizzy extraction coupled with APCI-MS provides a simple and automated way to analyze semivolatile species in liquid samples; (iv) smart strategies permit real-time monitoring of processes involving small (volatile) as well as large molecules (proteins); (v) open-source electronics facilitates prototyping automated sample handling systems for mass spectrometry.