title: Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry using TiO2-coated steel targets for the analysis of small molecules.
abstract: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) measurements in the low-molecular-mass region, ranging from 0 to 1000 Daltons are very often difficult to perform because of signal interferences originating from matrix ions. In order to overcome this problem, a stainless steel target was coated with a homogeneous titanium dioxide layer. The layer obtained was further investigated for its ability to desorb small molecules, e.g., amino acids, sugars, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 200, or extracts from Cynara scolymus leaves. The stability of the layer was determined by repeated measurements on the same target location, which was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) analysis. In addition, this titanium dioxide layer was compared with an already published method with titanium dioxide nanopowder as inorganic matrix. As a result of this work, the titanium dioxide layer produced minimal background interference, enabling simple interpretation of the detected mass spectra. Furthermore, the TiO(2) coating provides a target that can be reused many times for SALDI-MS measurements.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Radiochemistry, Leopold-Franzens University, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sonderegger
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rameshan
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Klauser
authors.forename: Mariska
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klerks
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rainer
authors.forename: Rania
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bakry
authors.forename: Christian W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Huck
authors.forename: Günther K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Bonn
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D031943:Cynara scolymus / Q000737:chemistry; D004867:Equipment Design; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013232:Steel / Q000737:chemistry; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002241:Carbohydrates; D013232:Steel; C009495:titanium dioxide; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D014025:Titanium