title: Graphene coated silica applied for high ionization matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: A novel approach for environmental and biomolecule analysis.
abstract: The integration of nanotechnology with mass spectrometry for sensitive and selective detection of molecules is a hot/important field of research. Synthesis of graphene (G) coated with mesoporous silica (SiO2, G@SiO2) for mass spectrometric application has been demonstrated. For the first time, we proposed the significant role of surfactant that used during the synthesis of mesorporous silicate (SiO2) in mass spectrometry. It was noticed that G could initiate SiO2 via surfactants which work as initiators for further ionization. The porosity of SiO2 trapped the analytes that was released and ionized with the surfactant fragments. Undoubtedly, strong background interferences were present in the case of organic matrix, which greatly obscured the detection of low molecular weight compounds. G@SiO2 nanocomposite affords several advantages, such as the ability to detect small molecules (<500Da), high sample localization through silica mesoporosity, and high ionization efficiency over than G or conventional matrices. The high performance of G@SiO2 is not only due to the large surface area but also due to high desorption/ionization efficiency of inevitably surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, CATB). Unlike the conventional MALDI-MS, the G@SiO2-MS is capable of generating multiply charged polysaccharides. The present method was validated to detect surfactants with low limits of detection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan; Department of Chemistry, Assuit University, Assuit 71515, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hani
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nasser Abdelhamid
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Bo-Sgum
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan; College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan; Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan; Institute of Medical Science and Technology, National Sun Yat-Sen University, 80424 Taiwan; Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan. Electronic address: hwu@faculty.nsysu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Hui-Fen
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006096:Gramicidin / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015394:Molecular Structure; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D000198:Spectinomycin / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D014031:Tobramycin / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D047392:beta-Cyclodextrins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D047392:beta-Cyclodextrins; D006096:Gramicidin; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D006108:Graphite; D000198:Spectinomycin; C031215:betadex; D014031:Tobramycin
keywords: Graphene; Silica; Surface assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI); Surfactant