Ionic Liquids Matrices for Laser Assisted Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

This review article discussed application of ionic liquids as matrices (ILMs) for mass spectrometry (MS). ILMs were applied for matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization, (ILMALDI-MS), electrospray ionization (ILMs-ESI-MS) and desorption corona beam ionization (DCBI-MS). Ionic liquids matrices provided several advantages such as low vapor pressure, have high stability for storage and under vacuum, extremely high sensitivity and showed low background or interferences. They are non-explosive, non-flammable and are thermally stable. The materials are promising for real measurements and require further investigations to improve the current performance. The combination between the conventional matrices and organic bases leaded to high ionization performance. The proton transfer efficiency of ILMs is higher than conventional matrices as the proton take place from the salt form. They were applied for many analytes such as biomarker, protein, peptides, polymers (synthetic and nature), small organic compounds and pharmaceuticals drugs.

Ionic Liquid-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization–Mass Spectrometry: Matrices, Microextraction, and Separation

“…Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–mass spectrometry was applied for the analysis of pathogenic microorganisms and their lysates [37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46], endotoxins [47], proteins [48,49,50,51], phosphopeptides [52], biothiols [53], surfactants [54], lipids [55], metals ions [56,57,58], metallodrugs [59], surface chemistry of nanoparticles functionalized with synthetic ligands [60], intermediates for quantum dots formation [61], and small molecules [62]. The ionization of an analyte may be assisted using organic matrices [63], ILs [64,65,66], or nanoparticles [67]. Ionic liquid matrices (ILMs) show high sensitivity in most cases and offer soft ionization with minimal fragmentation of thermal labile biomolecules.…”

Analysis of Carbohydrates and Glycoconjugates by Matrix‐assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry: An Update for 2015–2016

“…Several reviews have been published: “Silver nanostructures in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and mass spectrometry imaging”, (Sekuła et al, 2015b) (69 references); “Ionic liquids for mass spectrometry: Matrices, separation and microextraction” (Abdelhamid, 2016) (195 references); “Ionic liquids matrices assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry” (Abdelhamid, 2015) (102 references) and “Gold nanoparticles assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and applications: From simple molecules to intact cells” (Abdelhamid & Wu, 2016) (134 references).…”