title: Using sol-gel/crown ether hybrid materials as desalting substrates for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization analysis of oligonucleotides.
abstract: This study demonstrates the feasibility of using sol-gel/crown ether hybrid materials as sample substrates that reduce the intensity of the signals of sodium ion adducts of oligonucleotides during matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) analysis. 2-Hydroxymethyl[15]crown-5 and 2-hydroxymethyl[18]crown-6 were added as dopants during the sol-gel process to generate desalting substrates for MALDI sample deposition. The results demonstrate that the sol-gel/crown ether hybrid materials effectively suppress the formation of sodiated oligonucleotides during MALDI analysis. The largest detectable molecular size for an oligonucleotide was a 100-mer, and the detection limit for an oligonucleotide 36-mer was ca. 20 fmol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mao-Feng
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Yu-Chie
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D043844:Crown Ethers / Q000737:chemistry*; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D044367:Phase Transition; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D043844:Crown Ethers; D009841:Oligonucleotides