Surface‐Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometric Detection of Biomolecules by Using Functional Single‐Walled Carbon Nanohorns as the Matrix |
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Authors: | Rongna Ma Minghua Lu Lin Ding Prof Huangxian Ju Prof Zongwei Cai |
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Institution: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (P.R. China), Fax: (+86)?25‐8359‐3593;2. Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR (China), Fax: (+852)?3411‐7348 |
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Abstract: | A surface‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometric (SALDI‐TOF MS) method was developed for the analysis of small biomolecules by using functional single‐walled carbon nanohorns (SWNHs) as matrix. The functional SWNHs could transfer energy to the analyte under laser irradiation for accelerating its desorption and ionization, which led to low matrix effect, avoided fragmentation of the analyte, and provided high salt tolerance. Biomolecules including amino acids, peptides, and fatty acids could successfully be analyzed with about 3‐ and 5‐fold higher signals than those obtained using conventional matrix. By integrating the advantages of SWNHs and the recognition ability of aptamers, a selective approach was proposed for simultaneous capture, enrichment, ionization, and MS detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This method showed a greatly improved detection limit (1.0 μM ) for the analysis of ATP in complex biological samples. This newly designed protocol not only opened a new application of SWNHs, but also offered a new technique for selective MS analysis of biomolecules based on aptamer recognition systems. |
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Keywords: | adenosine triphosphate aptamers carbon nanohorns mass spectrometry SALDI‐TOF |
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