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The Influence of the Laser Energy and Matrix of MALDI on the Molecular Mass Distribution of Poly(ethylene glycol)

Published

Author(s)

S Wetzel, Charles M. Guttman, Kathleen M. Flynn

Abstract

The molecular mass distribution (MMD) that is obtained in synthetic polymer characterization may be biased by preferential desorption/ionization of low mass polymer molecules, preferential ion attachment to larger polymers, or degradation and fragmentation due to the desorption process. In this study we focus on the effect of the laser energy on the molecular mass distribution of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The matrix in which the polymer is analyzed also influences the laser power of MALDI, and was also considered in this paper. Three common matrixes were considered, dithranol, all trans-retinoic acid and DHB. Statistical analyses of the molecular mass distributions obtained a varying laser powers and matrixes reveal trends in the data, and can be used to describe influences of MALDI-TOF-MS on the synthetic polymer MMD.
Citation
ACS PMSE Preprint
Volume
88

Keywords

laser energy, MALDI, matrix effects, polyethylene glycol, time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Citation

Wetzel, S. , Guttman, C. and Flynn, K. (2003), The Influence of the Laser Energy and Matrix of MALDI on the Molecular Mass Distribution of Poly(ethylene glycol), ACS PMSE Preprint, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852117 (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created February 28, 2003, Updated October 12, 2021