Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using a visible laser

Visible matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (VIS-MALDI) was performed using 2-amino-3-nitrophenol as matrix. The matrix is of near-neutral pH, and has an optical absorption band in the near-UV and visible region. A frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser operated at 532 nm wavelength was used for matrix excitation and comparisons were made with a frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser (355 nm). Visible and ultraviolet (UV)-MALDI produce similar mass spectra for peptides, polymers, and small proteins with comparable sensitivities. Due to the smaller optical absorption coefficient of the matrix at 532 nm wavelength, the optical penetration depth is larger, and the sample consumption per laser shot in VIS-MALDI is higher than that of UV-MALDI. Nevertheless, VIS-MALDI using 2-amino-3-nitrophenol as matrix may offer a complementary technique to the conventional UV-MALDI method in applications where deeper laser penetration is required.     

Analysis of polyaniline oligomers by laser desorption ionization and solventless MALDI

While direct laser desorption ionization of soluble polyaniline dried onto metal sample plates results in mass spectra that are similar to previously shown electrospray ionization data of similar samples, laser desorption of unsolubilized solid polyaniline results in major fragmentation of the phenyl rings. Solventless MALDI, a recently developed technique for insoluble or slightly soluble species, involves the use of only solid analyte and matrix during sample preparation. Solventless MALDI of solid polyaniline results in mass spectra that are similar to the direct laser desorption ionization spectra of the soluble oligomers with some larger molecular weight oligomers also being detected. Based on the matrix used, different series of polyaniline with dissimilar end groups are detected. The matrix also affects the percentages of benzenoid and quinoid units in the oligomers. Thus, solventless MALDI appears to be a promising new technique for the mass spectrometric analysis of low solubility, but industrially important, polyanilines.     

MALDI-TOF质谱表征聚芳醚酮环状低聚物及其组分分布

应用介质辅助激光解吸离子化飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOFMS),以二羟基苯甲酸为介质、N₂(337nm)为激光源,对两种聚芳醚酮环状低聚物的结构进行了确认,研究了环状低聚物不同聚合度组分的分布规律,并且与GPC质量分析法作了比较,实验结果表明,MALDI-TQF质谱是分析环状低聚物的准确、快速的工具之一.     

聚芳醚酮环状低聚物的基质辅助激光解吸电离质谱表征

采用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF-MS)技术分别对2种合成的聚芳醚酮环状低聚物进行了分析研究 ,并讨论了低聚物中不同聚合度离子组分的分布规律。实验结果表明MALDI-TOF-MS是分析环状低聚物直观、准确、快速的分析工具。     

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry in the study of polycondensation of Ti(OBun)4 in the presence of Si(OEt)4

The hydrolysis-polycondensation behaviour of alcoholic solutions containing Si(OEt)4 and Ti(OBun)4, in different molar ratios (Si/Ti = 10-0.2), was analysed by laser desorption/ionisation (LDI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) mass spectrometry. The solutions were prepared using operating conditions usually employed in the sol-gel synthesis of SiO2-TiO2 materials. In accord with the well-known procedures for controlling the different chemical reactivities of the alkoxides, the pre-hydrolysis of the slower reacting silicon ethoxide and the chelation by acetylacetone of the faster reacting titanium butoxide were performed before mass spectrometric analysis. While LDI-MS did not provide evidence for the presence of mixed Si-Ti species in samples obtained from these reactions, MALDI-MS of samples diluted with chloroform and using 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) as matrix led to detection of various oligomers with different contents of Si and Ti atoms. The results suggest that the formation of Si-Ti mixed oligomers seems to be the favoured process, especially for solutions in which one of the two components is diluted.     

3-Hydroxycoumarin as a new matrix for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry of DNA

3-Hydroxycoumarin (3-HC) was designed, synthesized, and tested as a matrix for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analyses of a variety of synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides ranging long from three to 70 bases. Using the matrix solution of 3-HC dissolved in a mixed solvent of acetone and diammonium hydrogen citrate, DNA segments over the mass range 800 Da to 6900 Da were isotopically resolved with high signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. The individual isotopic molecular ion peaks of a group of 23-mer mixed-base oligomers differing by one or two bases with mass differences of 9 or 7 Da were recorded. Larger oligodeoxynucleotide segments of 34-mer, 50-mer, and 70-mer have also been analyzed effectively. Less than 250 attomol of a 10-mer DNA segment was clearly detected without any fragmentation. The new matrix can be used for the analysis of DNA segments in both positive- and negative-ion modes, and the quality of all negative-ion mode spectra are as good as that obtained in positive-ion mode shown in this paper. Compared with conventional matrices of 3-hydroxypicolinic acid (3-HPA) and 6-aza-2-thiothymine (ATT), 3-HC had noticeable improvement in resolution, S/N ratio, spot-to-spot-, and sample-to-sample reproducibility for analyzed DNA segments.     

Analysis of oligodeoxynucleotides by negative-ion matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry

Thirty compounds were tested in combination with ammonium acetate for the ability to desorb and ionize oligodeoxynucleotides by ultraviolet matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry. Negative ion yields using matrices such as 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde are enhanced by the addition of ammonium salts at a molar ratio of 1:1, pH 7. 3-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde was tested with 12 different ammonium, alkylammonium, and pyridinium salts for the ability to cocrystallize with oligodeoxynucleotides and to improve desorption and ionization. Ions of oligodeoxynucleotides 9, 10, and 11 nucleotides in length were observed with a matrix of 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde and ammonium acetate, pH 7, at a mass resolution of 100–150 (fwhm). A small oligodeoxynucleotide (11-mer) was observed at the femtomole level with a combination of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and ammonium acetate as the matrix. Ions from single stranded DNA (60 nucleotides in length) were also observed using this same matrix combination. The results of these studies have shown that both sensitivity and desorption conditions need to be further improved before complex mixtures of large pieces of DNA can be effectively analyzed.     

Quantitative measurement of the polydispersity in the extent of functionalization of glass‐forming calix[4]resorcinarenes

The polydispersity in the degree of functionalization for two calix[4]resorcinarenes was determined by measuring quantitatively their molecular mass distribution with matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. A mathematical method for polydisperse materials is described that creates a calibration curve to correct the ion signal intensities in the mass spectrum to give a more reliable molecular mass distribution. Correction is required due to various sample preparation and instrumental effects that may produce a systematic mass bias in the number of oligomers measured. This method employs gravimetric mixtures of analytes with different degrees of functionalization. One calix[4]resorcinarene was found to give accurate molecular mass distributions with little correction, while another, having a very similar molecular structure, was found to exhibit strong over‐counting of the oligomers having a high degree of functionalization. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

用MALDI-TOF-MS法表征系列环状预聚体

应用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（MALDI－TOF－MS）技术对系列环状预聚体进行了表征,分别确定了系列环状预聚体各自不同的聚合度,同时对它们的结构进行了确认,获得了满意的结果。实验结果表明MALDI－TOF－MS是分析环状预聚体准确、快速工具之一。     

Comparative studies of poly(dimethyl siloxanes) using automated GPC-MALDI-TOF MS and on-line GPC-ESI-TOF MS

In this study we compare on-line gel permeation chromatography (GPC) electrospray ionization (ESI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) to automated GPC matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) TOF MS for poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) analysis. Average mass values for a hydroxyl-terminated PDMS (OH-PDMS) sample were obtained and compared to traditional GPC that was calibrated with narrow polystyrene standards, by direct ESI and MALDI MS analysis, by a summation of mass spectra of all GPC fractions, and also by the recalibration method determined by both mass spectrometric methods. Quantitatively, the difference noted here between these hyphenated techniques is that GPC-ESI-TOF MS effectively reports the low-mass oligomers and underestimates the high-mass oligomers, while GPC-MALDI-TOF MS effectively reports the high-mass oligomers and underestimates the low-mass oligomers. In the GPC-ESI-TOF MS experiments, ion current suppression was observed in the high molecular weight region. The suppression effect was confirmed by repeatable sample runs and by injecting different PDMS samples. Higher chromatographic resolution was observed for GPC-ESI-TOF MS compared to GPC-MALDI-TOF MS. In fact, truly mono-disperse oligomers were observed in the low molecular weight range from GPC-ESI MS experiments.     

Evaluation of the quantitativeness of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using an equimolar mixture of uniform poly(ethylene glycol) oligomers

Quantitativeness of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) was elucidated using an equimolar mixture of uniform poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) oligomers with no molecular weight distributions. Uniform PEG oligomers with degrees of polymerization n = 6-40 were separated from commercial PEG samples by preparative super-critical fluid chromatography. MALDI-TOF mass spectra of an equimolar mixture of the uniform PEG oligomers were recorded by adding a mixture of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as a matrix reagent and four chlorinated salts, i.e. LiCl, NaCl, KCl and RbCl. Remarkable non-quantitative effects were observed in the MALDI-TOF mass spectra in both the lower and higher molecular mass regions. At higher molecular masses greater than about 10(3), PEG oligomers with larger molecular mass yielded lower spectral intensities irrespective of the species of adduct cations and higher laser powers induced larger decreases in mass spectral intensities with the increase in their molecular masses. On the other hand, in the lower molecular mass region, less than about 10(3), the observed non-quantitative effect greatly depends on the species of adduct cations, indicating that the stability of the PEG-cation complex affects the MALDI-TOF mass spectral intensities of uniform PEG oligomers.     

芳香环状聚膦酸酯齐聚物的基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱分析

用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱方法对一系列芳香环状聚膦酸酯低聚物进行了结构分析。比较了不同基质及阳离子剂对芳香环状聚膦酸酯分析结果的影响。1,8,9-蒽三酚基质仅对含有羰基基团聚膦酸酯环状齐聚物分析有效,而视黄酸基质则对所有聚膦酸酯环状剂聚物有效,是这类新型芳香环状齐聚物的适宜基质。环状聚膦酸酯齐聚物的阳离子齐分析表明,氯化锂是这种环状齐聚物的适宜的阳离子添加剂。     

Ionic matrices for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight detection of DNA oligomers

Salts with low melting points, also termed room-temperature ionic liquids, can be used as matrices in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF). They have great vacuum stability, and can dissolve polar and apolar solutes including carbohydrates, biological oligomers and proteins. The ionic liquids give much more homogeneous sample solutions compared with solid matrices. We demonstrate the usefulness of using ionic matrices to determine the molecular weight of DNA oligomers by direct TOF mass spectrometric analysis. Three oligonucleotides were tested, (d(pT)(10), d(pC)(11), and d(pC)(12)), with several ionic matrices synthesized from different bases associated to two acids (3-hydroxypicolinic acid and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid). The results obtained show that the best ionic matrices enhance the ion peak intensity of the oligonucleotides with respect to conventional molecular matrices under our experimental conditions. In one case, an ionic matrix provided a signal-to-noise ratio ten times higher than the corresponding molecular matrix. Several of the tested ionic matrices were liquids. However, all working ionic matrices were solids.     

以2, 4, 6-三羟基苯乙酮为基体使用基体辅助激光解吸/电离质 谱法测定核酸分 子的研究

报道以2,4,6-三羟基苯乙酮(2,4,6-THAP)为基体用基体辅助激光解吸/电离飞行时间质谱法(MALDI-TOF-MS)测定核酸分子的研究。2,4,6-THAP解吸和电离DNA分子的效率很高,测定DNA分子d(T)~1~0的[M-H]^-分辨率可达1130.0,信噪比为366.0,检出限达5×10^-^1^4mol,可以测定相对分子质量高达14800以上混合碱基组成的DNA分子。为提高基体对样品解吸/电离效率,对纯化DNA样品的方法进行了讨论。     

Self‐Assembly of Aniline Oligomers

A great number of nano/microscaled morphologies have recently been prepared during the oxidation of aniline. At the early stage of oxidation, aniline oligomers are obtained, often in spectacular morphologies depending on reaction conditions. Herein, the flower‐like hierarchical architectures assembled from aniline oligomers by a template‐free method are reported. Their formation process is ascribed to the self‐assembly of oligoanilines through non‐covalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic forces, and π–π stacking. The model of directional growth is offered to explain the formation of petal‐like objects and, subsequently, flowers. In order to investigate the chemical structure of the oligomers, a series of characterizations have been carried out, such as matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization, time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry analysis, X‐ray diffraction, and UV/Vis, Fourier‐transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopies. Based on the results of characterization methods, a formation mechanism for aniline oligomers and their self‐assembly is proposed.     

2-氨基-5-硝基吡啶在基体辅助激光解吸/电离质谱法测定核酸分子中的应用

报道以2-氨基-5-硝基吡啶为基体用基体辅助激光解吸/电离质谱法(MALDI-MS)对DNA样品进行测定并研究它们的激光质谱特征,结果表明,2-氨基-5-硝基吡啶是DNA的一高效基体.用柠檬酸铵和NH_4~+阳离子交换树脂除去试剂和样品中的碱金属离子,能显著地提高解吸/电离DNA分子的效率.     

3-羟基-4-甲氧基肉桂酸--基体辅助激光解吸电离质谱法测定DNA的有效基体

报道用基体辅助激光解吸电离质谱法（ ＭＡＬＤＩ－ ＭＳ） 测定ＤＮＡ 分子的一种有效基体３－ 羟基－ ４ － 甲氧基肉桂酸。 实验发现该基体对ＤＮＡ 分子解吸和电离效率高, 对ＤＮＡｄ（ Ｔ） １０ 分子离子峰的分辨率为５ ５５１ ．４ , 信噪比为１１ ．８ 。３ － 羟基－ ４ － 甲氧基肉桂酸是ＭＡＬＤＩ－ ＭＳ 法测定ＤＮＡ 分子的一个可供选择使用有效基体。     

Infrared laser post-ionization of large biomolecules from an IR-MALD(I) plume

A two-infrared laser desorption/ionization method is described. A first laser, which was either an Er:YAG laser or an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), served for ablation/vaporization of small volumes of analyte/matrix sample at fluences below the ion detection threshold for direct matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). A second IR-laser, whose beam intersected the expanding ablation plume at a variable distance and time delay, was used to generate biomolecular ions out of the matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALD) plume. Either one of the two above lasers or an Er:YSGG laser was used for post-ionization. Glycerol was used as IR-MALDI matrix, and mass spectra of peptides, proteins, as well as nucleic acids, some of which in excess of 10(5) u in molecular weight, were recorded with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. A mass spectrum of cytochrome c from a water ice matrix is also presented. The MALD plume expansion was investigated by varying the position of the post-ionization laser beam above the glycerol sample surface and its delay time relative to the desorption laser. Comparison between the OPO (pulse duration, tau(L) = 6 ns) and the Er:YAG laser (tau(L) approximately 120 ns) as primary excitation laser demonstrates a significant effect of the laser pulse duration on the MALD process.     

Determination of molecular mass distribution of silicone oils by supercritical fluid chromatography, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and their off-line combination

Silicone oil samples were characterized by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI--TOF MS), and their off-line combination. SFC was used to separate samples of silicone oils on micropacked capillary columns. The fractions for the identification studies were obtained from SFC runs at defined time intervals, when the restrictor was pulled out from the chromatographic flame ionization detector (FID) and inserted into a glass vial with acetone. MALDI--TOF MS was used for the identification of individual oligomers in the fractions separated. The molecular mass distributions determined based on SFC and MALDI--TOF MS measurements were compared. From this comparison, it follows that the results are in good agreement. However, certain differences were observed: MALDI--TOF MS was capable of detecting somewhat larger oligomers than the SFC-FID, but the lower molecular mass oligomers were not present in the MALDI spectra. Differences in the region of lower molecular masses can be explained by evaporation of the more volatile low molecular mass oligomers resulting from heating of the sample during the MALDI--TOF MS measurements as a result of the absorption of the laser shot energy. The fact that no high mass discrimination effects of the MALDI--TOF MS measurements, compared with SFC, were observed is very promising for further applications of MALDI--TOF MS in characterizing synthetic polymers of moderate polydispersity.     

单分散聚苯胺齐聚物的激光解吸电离质谱

采用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（ＭＡＬＤＩ－ＴＯＦ－ＭＳ）技术分别对８个单分散的聚苯胺齐聚物进行了分析研究。实验结果表明,ＭＡＬＤＩ－ＴＯＦ－ＭＳ不但可以作为分析单分散聚苯胺齐聚物的直观、准确、快速的分析工具,而且可以为合成路线的确定提供有利的证据。