Desorption electrospray ionization ‐ orbitrap mass spectrometry of synthetic polymers and copolymers

Abstract

Desorption ElectroSpray Ionization (DESI) - Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry (MS) was evaluated as a new tool for the characterization of various industrial synthetic polymers (poly(ethylene glycol), poly(propylene glycol), poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(dimethylsiloxane)) and copolymers, with masses ranging from 500 g.mol(-1) up to more than 20 000 g.mol(-1) . Satisfying results in terms of signal stability and sensitivity were obtained from hydrophobic surfaces (HTC Prosolia) with a mixture water/methanol (10/90) as spray solvent in the presence of sodium salt. Taking into account the formation of multiplied charged species by DESI-MS, a strategy based on the use of a deconvolution software followed by the automatic assignment of the ions was described allowing the rapid determination of M(n) , M(w) and PDI values. DESI-Orbitrap MS results were compared to those obtained from matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization- time-of-flight MS and gel permeation chromatography. An application of DESI-Orbitrap MS for the detection and identification of polymers directly from cosmetics was described.

Mehrdimensionale Massenspektrometrie von synthetischen Polymeren und modernen Materialien

“…So können die orthogonalen LC‐ und IM‐Trennungen verknüpft werden, um eine zweidimensionale Trennplattform zu schaffen, die sich bei Kopplung mit MS/MS‐Fragmentierung als vielversprechend bei der Charakterisierung von PEGylierten Proteinwirkstoffen erwiesen hat . Darüber hinaus werden Oberflächenanalysenverfahren und bildgebende Verfahren, die in biomedizinischen Untersuchungen breit angewendet werden, allmählich auf das Gebiet der synthetischen Polymere ausgedehnt . Diese aufkommenden Entwicklungen und die gängigen Methoden, über die hier ein Überblick gegeben wurde, erweitern die Palette der für die Charakterisierung der Mikrostruktur von synthetischen Polymeren oder Copolymeren zur Verfügung stehenden Methoden, wodurch Materialforschung und ‐entwicklung wesentlich erleichtert werden.…”

Application of a novel cyclic ion mobility‐mass spectrometer to the analysis of synthetic polymers: A preliminary evaluation

“…Different types of mass analyser are used in polymer analysis; in particular, a range of different tandem MS approaches are used in which two or more mass separation techniques are employed. Examples include a sector‐TOF mass spectrometer, a tandem quadrupole instrument, hybrid Orbitrap instruments, TOF/TOF instruments and quadrupole time‐of‐flight (QTOF) instruments . Tandem mass spectrometry techniques are most frequently used in the structural investigations of polymers because product ion patterns can provide information about monomer sequences, backbone architecture and end‐group identity.…”

Ambient Characterization of Synthetic Fibers by Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

“…Another ambient ionization MS technique used for identification of polymer species is desorption electrospray ionization (DESI). 44−47 DESI relies on the solubility of sample material for desorption and subsequent ESI-like ionization mechanisms. 48 For the analysis of hydrophobic polymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate) and polymethylstyrene, methanol solutions containing formic acid or salts such as lithium bromide or silver nitrate were used.…”