MALDI In-Source Decay of Protein: The Mechanism of c-Ion Formation

The in-source decay (ISD) phenomenon, the fragmentation at an N-Cα bond of a peptide backbone that occurs within several tens of nanoseconds in the ion-source in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS), is discussed from the standpoints of the discovery and early publications dealing with MALDI-ISD, the formation of c-ions in energy-sudden desorption/ionization methods, the formation of radical species in a MALDI, model construction for ISD, and matrix materials that are suitable for use in MALDI-ISD. The formation of c-ions derived from peptides and proteins in MALDI-ISD can be rationalized by a mechanism involving intermolecular hydrogen transfer, denoted as the "Takayama's model" by De Pauw's group (Anal. Chem. 79: 8678-8685, 2007). It should be emphasized that the model for MALDI-ISD was constructed on the basis of X-ray crystallography and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) analyses of matrix crystals, as well as the use of isotopically-labelled peptides.