Incoherent production reactions of positive and negative ions in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization

Abstract

Utilizing synchronized dual-polarity matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry, we found good evidence of the incoherent production of positive and negative matrix ions. Using thin, homogeneous 2,5-dehydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) matrix films, positive and negative matrix ions were found to appear at different threshold laser fluences. The presence of molecular matrix ions of single charge polarity suggests that the existence of DHB ion-pairs may not be a prerequisite in MALDI. Photoelectrons induced by the laser excitation may assist the production of negative DHB ions, as shown in experiments conducted with stainless steel and glass substrates. At high laser fluences, the relative yield of positive and negative matrix ions remained constant when homogeneous matrix films were used, but it fluctuated significantly with inhomogeneous crystal morphology. This result is also inconsistent with the hypothesis that matrix ion-pairs are essential primary ions. (MALDI) provides a convenient means to produce protein and peptide ions for mass analysis [1, 2], but its application to the studies of biopolymers such as carbohydrates is still limited by insufficient ion yields [3,4]. It is generally accepted that the protonated matrix molecules are the essential initial ions responsible for the production of positively-charged analytes [5], normally via proton transfer reactions. But such a qualitative description is insufficient to provide guidelines for the optimization of experimental conditions for the wide variety seen in biological samples. The paucity of our knowledge of detailed ionization mechanisms makes the optimization of MALDI performance a highly empirical process and thus the primary bottleneck of this method. In the last decade, Karas and coworkers and Knochenmuss and coworkers have respectively established a cluster model [6,7] and a two-step model [8 -10] to explain MALDI. The two models are divergent in several aspects, including the origin of the initial ions that trigger the subsequent reactions, the role of ion-neutral reactions during material desorption, the contribution of photoelectrons in the reactions, etc. The two reaction models seem not converge over time mainly due to the insufficient information provided by conventional mass spectrometric methods. It is thus desirable to develop our understanding of MALDI from novel perspectives, such as the correlation between primary positive and negative ions at the time of ionization.A recent report based on a synchronized dual-polarity MALDI-TOF method stated that the spectral pattern of MALDI-generated positive ions were approximately equal to those of the negative ions for some moderate-size proteins [11]. There was thus some speculation over whether the positive and negative ions are produced in a pair-wise fashion in MALDI [12,13], or whether they are the result of preformed ion-pairs in the crystal before laser irradiation [6]. More recently, Dashtiev and coworkers [14] systemically studied the correlation of positive and ne...

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Comprehensive molecular imaging of photolabile surface samples with synchronized dual‐polarity time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

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Compelling Advantages of Negative Ion Mode Detection in High-Mass MALDI-MS for Homomeric Protein Complexes

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