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Updated: May 4, 2026

Characterization of Synthetic Polymers via Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 10, 2018
Application of High-Resolution MALDI-TOFMS with a Spiral Ion Trajectory for the Structural Characterization of Free
Hiroaki Sato1, Yoko Ishii1, Hikaru Momose2
1Research Institute for Environmental Management Technology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).
Abstract:
The structural characterization of copolymers by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) remains a challenging task, since their random comonomer distribution creates very complicated mass spectra. In this study, a high-resolution TOF mass spectrometer with a spiral ion trajectory was applied to the structural and compositional characterization of free radical copolymerized poly(methyl methacrylate-co-tert-butyl methacrylate), poly(MMA-co-tBMA)s in ethyl lactate acting as a chain transfer agent. Virtually complete peak assignments of the isobaric components within the poly(MMA-co-tBMA)s served to identify the end-group combinations and copolymer compositions of individual copolymer components, allowing the distributions of comonomer compositions and six types of end-group combinations to be evaluated.
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