title: Surface-activated no-discharge atmospheric pressure chemical ionization.
abstract: A new ionization method named surface-activated chemical ionization (SACI) has been realized. In this invention a commercially available atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) chamber, employed without any corona discharge (no-discharge APCI), has been modified with the insertion of a gold surface, leading to a significant improvement in the ionization efficiency. The ionization of the sample takes place by both gas-phase and surface-activated processes. This new ionization source is able to generate ions with high molecular mass and low charge states, leading to improved sensitivity and reduced noise. The new device has been tested in the analysis of some peptides. A comparison between the performance with and without the presence of the surface, and the optimization of the operating conditions (nebulizing gas flow, sample solution flow, pH of solution, and surface area), are reported and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Milano, Centro Interdisciplinare Studi Bio-molecolari e Applicazioni Industriali CISI, Via Fratelli Cervi 93, 20090 Segrate, Milano, Italy. dtoycr@tin.it
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cristoni
authors.forename: Luigi Rossi
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Biunno
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tubaro
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guidugli
mesh_terms: D000399:Air Pressure; D000818:Animals; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D011492:Protein Hydrolysates / Q000737:chemistry; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D014357:Trypsin / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D010455:Peptides; D011492:Protein Hydrolysates; D011506:Proteins; C055324:phospholipase A2-activating protein; D014357:Trypsin