title: Enhanced MALDI MS sensitivity by weak base additives and glycerol sample coating.
abstract: The concept of rationally designing MALDI matrices has been extended to the next "whole sample" level. These studies have revealed some unexpected and exploitable insights in improving MALDI sensitivity. It is shown that (i) additives which only provide additional laser energy absorption are best to be avoided; (ii) the addition of proton donors in the form of protonated weak bases can be highly beneficial; (iii) the addition of glycerol for coating crystalline samples is highly recommended. Overall, analytical sensitivity has been significantly increased compared to the current "gold" standards in MALDI MS, and new insights into the mechanisms and processes of MALDI have been gained.
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Reading , Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, United Kingdom.
authors: Rainer
authors: R
authors: Cramer
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Karas
authors: Thorsten W
authors: TW
authors: Jaskolla
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D005990:Glycerol