title: Gold nanoparticles as assisted matrix for determining neutral small carbohydrates through laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: A method for the analysis of small neutral carbohydrates by surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) has been developed by using bare AuNPs as matrices. In comparison with citrate-capped and DDAB-capped AuNPs, bare AuNPs can capture the analytes on their surface; therefore, small neutral carbohydrates, which are difficult to ionize by matrix-assisted desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, could be cationized very efficiently by SALDI-MS with AuNPs as matrices. By using SALDI-MS in the positive ion mode, many molecular ions are obtained from monosaccharides and disaccharides. Without derivatization, the limits of detection at a S/N ratio of 3 are 82, 41, 144, and 151 nM for ribose, glucose, cellobiose, and maltose. In comparison with conventional organic matrixes (e.g., 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid), bare AuNPs as SALDI matrices offer many advantages, such as easy sample preparation, high ionization efficiency, and high shot-to-shot reproducibility. To validate the applicability of our method, a calibration curve is created from urine spiked with standard glucose (0.5-10 mM). We strongly believe that this approach can potentially be applied to diagnosis and glycomics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University and National Sun Yat-Sen University-Kaohsiung Medical University Joint Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Wei-Lung
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Tseng
mesh_terms: D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D006046:Gold