Application of femtosecond laser mass spectrometry to the analysis of volatile organic compounds

Femtosecond (fs) lasers have high intensity and ultrashort pulse duration. Tunneling ionization occurs for molecules subject to such intense laser fields. We have studied the mass spectra of a variety of molecules irradiated by intense fs laser pulses. These molecules include some typical volatile organic compounds contained in human breath and in the atmosphere. The results demonstrate that all of these molecules can be ionized by intense fs laser pulses. Dominant parent ion and some characteristic ionic fragments are observed for each molecule. The degree of fragmentation can be controlled by adjusting the laser intensity. Moreover, saturation ionization can occur for each molecule by increasing the laser intensity. These features indicate that fs laser mass spectrometry can be a sensitive tool to identify and quantify volatile organic compounds in human breath.     

Soft ionization mass spectrometry for studying desorption of bioactive compounds from a shungite surface

Ionized products of desorption of biologically active amino compounds (1,1-dimethylhydrazine, diglycine, tyrosine, and tryptophan) from the surface of a modified mineral (shungite-III, Karelia) have been investigated by laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry methods (MALDI and SALDI). The composition of the ionized products of laser desorption of amino acids from the surface of nanodispersed shungite is almost independent of carbon content in shungite. The comparative analysis of ionized organic compounds desorbed from the surfaces of shungite and carbon black has led to the suggestion that the decomposition and surface transformation of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine molecules mainly occur on the inorganic components of shungite.     

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using an inorganic particle matrix for small molecule analysis

Fine metal or metal oxide powder as an alternative to conventional organic matrices in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) has been utilized successfully for lower molecular mass analytes, poly(ethylene glycol) 200 (PEG 200) and methyl stearate. Eleven kinds of particle, Al, Mn, Mo, Si, Sn, SnO2, TiO2, W, WO3, Zn and ZnO, were evaluated. The analyte was mixed with a metal or metal oxide powder (inorganic matrix) with particle diameter of tens of micrometers and liquid dispersant, followed by application to the sample target. Using a commercial MALDI-TOFMS instrument equipped with an internal 337 nm pulsed nitrogen laser, the analytes, PEG 200 and methyl stearate, were ionized as the alkali metal ion adducted molecules [M+Na]+ or [M+K]+ when the inorganic matrices Mn, Mo, Si, Sn, TiO2, W, WO3, Zn or ZnO were used. In the case of an Al matrix, PEG 200 was ionized as [M+K]+, whereas methyl stearate was ionized as [M+H]+ and [M+Al]+. These particles have potential as the matrix for MALDI. During our examination, however, only SnO2 particles did not ionize either PEG 200 or methyl stearate. Based on our protocol, when TiO2 powder was suspended with liquid paraffin, PEG 200 and methyl stearate gave their MALDI-TOF mass spectra with the lowest background noise and highest intensity. TiO2 powder seemed to be a broad potential matrix for low molecular mass polar or non-polar analytes. The results suggested that bulk particles caused rapid heating/vaporization processes and ionized analyte molecules under irradiation with a pulsed UV laser. The present method can be readily applied to obtain the low background noise MALDI-TOF mass spectra of small-sized compounds.     

Femtosecond laser time-of-flight mass spectrometry of labile molecular analytes: laser-desorbed nitro-aromatic molecules.

Femtosecond laser time-of-flight mass spectra of solid samples of trinitrobenzene (TNB), trinitrotoluene (TNT) and trinitrophenol (TNP) have been recorded. Desorption of the solid samples was enacted by the fourth harmonic output (266 nm) of a 5 ns Nd:YAG laser. Subsequent femtosecond post-ionisation of the plume of neutral molecules was achieved using 800 nm laser pulses of 80 fs duration. Mass spectra have been recorded for desorption laser intensities from 2-6 x 10(9) W cm(-2) with ionisation laser intensities between 2 x 10(14) and 6 x 10(15) W cm(-2). Femtosecond laser ionisation has been shown to be capable of generating precursor and characteristic high-mass fragment ions for labile nitro-aromatic molecules commonly used in high-explosive materials. This feature is critical in the future development of femtosecond laser-based analytical instruments that can be used for complex molecular identification and quantitative analysis of environmentally important labile molecules. Furthermore, a comparison of femtosecond post-ionisation mass spectra with standard 70 eV electron impact data has revealed similarities in the spectra and hence the fragmentation processes.     

研究级激光微探针飞行时间质谱仪及其应用

本文介绍了自行研制的激光微探针飞行时间质谱仪，阐述了该仪器的基本原理、结构特点、研究功能及其所达到的参量。该仪器是一台具有高分辩率、高灵敏度、研究功能强并兼具常规分析所需的简便、快捷的现代大型分析仪器。文章还介绍了该仪器的应用实例，如可作几万道尔顿以上的大分子物质分析，大分子蛋白质混合物的分析，有机化合物特别是难挥发和热不稳定有机物的分析，少至几十埃薄膜，如Ｃ６０等薄膜材料成分分析，负离子分析，以     

激光解吸电离质谱新型液相基质研究

选用包括纳米粒子在内的多种基质化合物,构成了多种不同组成的液相基质.以多肽、蛋白、大环寡糖和有机小分子等数种类型化合物为样品,系统地考察了不同液相基质在基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF)分析中的应用情况,探讨了与固体制样方法的异同点.实验结果表明,有些液相基质对多类化合物具有较好的通用性,而有些液相基质对某些特定类型化合物的分析特别有效.     

飞行时间质谱仪新技术的进展及应用

本文介绍了近几年来发展应用于飞行时间质谱(TOF-MS)仪中的软电离技术。质子转移电离实现了可挥发性有机物的高灵敏度分析;真空紫外灯电离源体积小、简单,利于便携式仪器;电喷雾解吸电离在线、无损和灵敏度高,在公共安全方面具有很大的发展潜力,而且还可以直接用于活的生物体表面分析;大气压下的在线直接分析电离技术利用载气分子的激发态使得被分析化合物电离得到分子离子。针对不同的电离方法简单评述了其性能及应用,同时介绍了飞行时间质谱在串联方面的新发展,以及TOF-MS在仪器微型化方面的进展及其应用,并对飞行时间质谱仪今后的发展作了展望。     

Calixarene/pillararene-based supramolecular selective binding and molecular assembly

This review mainly summarized the recent researches on the supramolecular selective binding and molecular assembly based on calixarene and pillararene. Several representative examples were provided to expound the progress in the area of recognition and sensing, multi-functional assembly and crosslinked multi-dimensional materials.     

Electrospray/VUV single-photon ionization mass spectrometry for the analysis of organic compounds

For the comprehensive analysis of organic compounds, especially thermal labile and nonpolar compounds, an electrospray/vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) single-photon ionization (ES-SPI) method was developed. The fine droplets of the sample solution from the electrospray process were directed through a quartz capillary and two skimmers to form a molecular beam into a high vacuum ionization chamber. The neutral sample molecules were softly ionized with tunable VUV light and analyzed with a reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (RTOF-MS). The ionization energy (IE) and appearance onsets of fragments were obtained based on the photoionization efficiency (PIE) spectrum. The isomers can also be distinguished. With this new method, clean (fragment-free) mass spectra of nonpolar compounds, such as benzene, cyclohexane, and some thermal labile solid compounds (triphenylamine, thioacetamide, and urea) have been obtained without any tedious pretreatment. The components of complex mixtures (gasoline and kerosene) can be identified. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of the components can be obtained based on photoionization cross section data. This method may be used for quantitative analysis of small biomolecules and natural products.     

Analysis of aquatic‐phase natural organic matter by optimized LDI‐MS method

The composition and physiochemical properties of aquatic‐phase natural organic matter (NOM) are most important problems for both environmental studies and water industry. Laser desorption/ionization (LDI) mass spectrometry facilitated successful examinations of NOM, as humic and fulvic acids in NOM are readily ionized by the nitrogen laser. In this study, hydrophobic NOMs (HPO NOMs) from river, reservoir and waste water were characterized by this technique. The effect of analytical variables like concentration, solvent composition and laser energy was investigated. The exact masses of small molecular NOM moieties in the range of 200–1200 m/z were determined in reflectron mode. In addition, spectra of post‐source‐decay experiments in this range showed that some compounds from different natural NOMs had the same fragmental ions. In the large mass range of 1200–15 000 Da, macromolecules and their aggregates were found in HPO NOMs from natural waters. Highly humic HPO exhibited mass peaks larger than 8000 Da. On the other hand, the waste water and reservoir water mainly had relatively smaller molecules of about 2000 Da. The LDI‐MS measurements indicated that highly humic river waters were able to form large aggregates and membrane foulants, while the HPO NOMs from waste water and reservoir water were unlikely to form large aggregates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of silver molybdate clusters driven by laser-annealing

The synthesis of silver rich molybdate clusters is achieved by laser induced chemical reaction of coadsorbed MoO(3) and O(2) molecules on free silver clusters. The reactants MoO(3) and/or O(2) molecules condensed at low temperature (77 K-175 K) on free silver clusters. Then, the silver clusters together with their adsorbed molecules are flashed either ionized with a discharge or ionized and heated by a laser. Then they are cooled down by evaporation. The synthesized chemical compounds are analyzed by a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer. If only one type of reactant is adsorbed on the cluster, only one oxide molecule is stabilized on the metallic core after the heating and cooling cycle. On the contrary, the coadsorption of the two types of molecules MoO(3) and O(2) on Ag(n) (+), at 77 K, leads to complex aggregates that transform, after laser heating, into a molybdate rich metal clusters. These synthesized species cool down by evaporating silver atoms showing evidence of a binary oxide that is more stable than the metallic core. Moreover we demonstrate that for small size molybdate clusters, a stoichiometric composition may differ from the bulk one.     

基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱研究2: 四硫 富瓦烯化合物

采用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF-MS),对四硫富瓦烯化合物进行质谱表征。在所用的实验条件下,样品很容易解吸电离生成单电荷分子离子,得到单同位素分辨的质谱图。26种实际样品的质谱分析结果表明;MALDI-TOF-MS可以比其它质谱方法更有效、更方便地用于此类化合物的质谱分析,解决了此类化合物不易进行质谱鉴定的难题。     

Approaches for the analysis of low molecular weight compounds with laser desorption/ionization techniques and mass spectrometry

This review summarizes various approaches for the analysis of low molecular weight (LMW) compounds by different laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry techniques (LDI-MS). It is common to use an agent to assist the ionization, and small molecules are normally difficult to analyze by, e.g., matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) using the common matrices available today, because the latter are generally small organic compounds themselves. This often results in severe suppression of analyte peaks, or interference of the matrix and analyte signals in the low mass region. However, intrinsic properties of several LDI techniques such as high sensitivity, low sample consumption, high tolerance towards salts and solid particles, and rapid analysis have stimulated scientists to develop methods to circumvent matrix-related issues in the analysis of LMW molecules. Recent developments within this field as well as historical considerations and future prospects are presented in this review.     

固相有机反应和分析方法

综述了近几年固相有机反应和分析方法的最新进展。固相有机反应包括取代、缩合、环加成、氧化还原反应等, 可以形成碳碳键、酰胺键等, 满足官能团的变换; 与固相有机反应相适应的有机分析方法包括对单个树脂微球所连接化合物进行官能团分析(FTIR)方法和结构确定方法(MAS NMR)。这些技术能够更好地使组合化学应用到药物开发研究之中。     

Comprehensive characterization of natural organic matter by MALDI- and ESI-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Natural organic matter (NOM) is a complex and non-uniform mixture of organic compounds which plays an important role in environmental processes. Due to the complexity, it is challenging to obtain fully detailed structural information about NOM. Although Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for providing molecular information about NOM, multiple ionization methods are needed for comprehensive characterization of NOM at the molecular level considering the ionizing selectivity of different ionization methods. This paper reports the first use of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) method coupled with FT-ICR-MS for molecular characterization of NOM within a mass range of 200–800 Da. The mass spectral data obtained by MALDI were systematically compared with data generated by electrospray ionization (ESI). It showed that complementary molecular information about NOM which could not be detected by ESI, were provided by MALDI. More unsaturated and aromatic constituents of NOM with lower O/C ratio (O/C ratio < 0.5) were preferentially ionized in MALDI negative mode, whereas more polar constituents of NOM with higher O/C ratio were preferentially ionized in ESI negative mode. Molecular anions of NOM appearing at even m/z in MALDI negative ion mode were detected. The results show that NOM molecules with aromatic structures, moderate O/C ratio (0.7 > O/C ratio > 0.25) and lower H/C ratio were liable to form molecular anions at even m/z, whereas those with higher H/C ratio are more likely to form deprotonated ions at odd m/z. It is speculated that almost half of the NOM molecules identified by MALDI may be aromatic or condensed aromatic compounds with special groups which are liable to absorb electron from other molecules to generate free radical anions during MALDI ionization.     

Negative and positive secondary ion mass spectra of organic acids

Organic compounds can be ionized by sputtering the solid sample. The resulting negative and positive secondary ions provide mass spectra which characterize both the molecular weights and the structures of the compounds. Ionization occurs either by direct ejection of charged species from the solid into vacuum or by electron or proton transfer. The sputtered secondary ions dissociate unimolecularly to give fragment ions. These reactions are identical to those which occur when the secondary ions are independently generated by chemical ionization, selected by mass and dissociated in a high energy gas phase collision. The negative ion SIMS spectra show molecular ions (M^?.) or (M-H)^? ions as the dominant high mass species together with fragments due to decarboxylation, dehydration and losses of other simple molecules. Stronger acids show larger (M-H)^?/M^?.abundance ratios. The positive ion spectra are complementary and also useful in characterizing molecular structures. Attachment of cations to organic molecules (cationization) occurs much more readily than anion attachment and this makes negative SIMS spectra simpler than these positive ion counterparts.     

Laser desorption lamp ionization source for ion trap mass spectrometry

A two‐step laser desorption lamp ionization source coupled to an ion trap mass spectrometer (LDLI‐ITMS) has been constructed and characterized. The pulsed infrared (IR) output of an Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) is directed to a target inside a chamber evacuated to ~15 Pa causing desorption of molecules from the target's surface. The desorbed molecules are ionized by a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) lamp (filled with xenon, major wavelength at 148 nm). The resulting ions are stored and detected in a three‐dimensional quadrupole ion trap modified from a Finnigan Mat LCQ mass spectrometer operated at a pressure of ≥ 0.004 Pa. The limit of detection for desorbed coronene molecules is 1.5 pmol, which is about two orders of magnitude more sensitive than laser desorption laser ionization mass spectrometry using a fluorine excimer laser (157 nm) as the ionization source. The mass spectrum of four standard aromatic compounds (pyrene, coronene, rubrene and 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25‐octabutoxy‐29H,31H‐phthalocyanine (OPC)) shows that parent ions dominate. By increasing the infrared laser power, this instrument is capable of detecting inorganic compounds. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination of traces in solid samples with laser-AAS

Microamounts of solid samples are vaporized by focused laser radiation (Q-switch ruby). The solid aerosol is transported in an Ar gas stream to a hot graphite tube. The determination of trace metals is made by flameless AAS.A dual channel AA spectrometer is used for the investigation of the reproducibility of the absorbance values in indirect laser AAS. The simultaneous determination of Ag-Mn an Pb-Ag in copper standard metals and in pellets of organic powders show that the inhomogeneity of the materials and differences in the material vaporization by the laser light influence the analytical results.The results of the simultaneous determination of Ag, Al, Mn, Ni. and Pb in different solid samples are compared mutually and with the results of flameless AAS determinations of solutions.     

Investigation of the effects of cooling after laser desorption before post-ionization

To evaluate the necessity for cooling laser-desorbed molecules to obtain molecular ions and minimal fragmentation, mass spectra of a series of methoxybenzenes were measured in two different experimental configurations. In one geometry, laser-desorbed molecules were entrained in a pulsed supersonic jet before ionization. In the other, the molecules were ionized directly after laser desorption. The samples were ionized with laser-generated vacuum ultraviolet radiation in a single-photon process or ultraviolet radiation in a multi-photon process.