title: Revisiting the quantitative features of surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric analysis.
abstract: Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is frequently used to analyse small organics owing to its clean background. Inorganic materials can be used as energy absorbers and the transfer medium to facilitate the desorption/ionization of analytes; thus, they are used as SALDI-assisting materials. Many studies have demonstrated the usefulness of SALDI-MS in quantitative analysis of small organics. However, some characteristics occurring in SALDI-MS require certain attention to ensure the reliability of the quantitative analysis results. The appearance of a coffee-ring effect in SALDI sample preparation is the primary factor that can affect quantitative SALDI-MS analysis results. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no reports relating to quantitative SALDI-MS analysis that discuss or consider this effect. In this study, the coffee-ring effect is discussed using nanoparticles and nanostructured substrates as SALDI-assisting materials to show how this effect influences SALDI-MS analysis results. Potential solutions for overcoming the existing problems are also suggested.This article is part of the themed issue 'Quantitative mass spectrometry'.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Yi
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2598-7310
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kai-Chieh
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3485-099X
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Ling
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2908-5311
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan yuchie@mail.nctu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yu-Chie
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2253-4049
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: mass spectrometry; mass spectrometry imaging; quantitative analysis; surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization; titania nanotubes