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The Influence of Electrospray Deposition in Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Sample Preparation for Synthetic Polymers
Published
Author(s)
S Wetzel, Charles M. Guttman, Kathleen M. Flynn
Abstract
Three polymers of differing thermal stability, polystyrene (PS), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and polypropylene glycol (PPG) were studied by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) as the electro-spray deposition voltage was varied. Both the PEG and the PPG molecular mass distributions (MMD) reveal fragmentation in MALDI-MS. Electro-spray deposition increases the repeatability of MALDI, although the electro-spray deposition voltage may affect the synthetic polymer MMD. The polymer MMD obtained using the electro-spray deposition method was also compared with the MMD of hand-spotted samples. No change is seen in the polymer MMD when the electro-spray deposition voltage is varied in the analysis of PS, but increased fragmentation results for both PEG and PPG due to the voltage of the electrospray deposition method.
Wetzel, S.
, Guttman, C.
and Flynn, K.
(2004),
The Influence of Electrospray Deposition in Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Sample Preparation for Synthetic Polymers, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852286
(Accessed October 11, 2025)