Atmospheric Pressure MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging Using In-Line Plasma Induced Postionization

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Background:

• Atmospheric pressure ionization (API) methods offer advantages over vacuum techniques, particularly for hyphenation with mass spectrometers.
• Existing atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (AP-MALDI) platforms often exhibit low ion yields and poor ion transmission.
• Improving ion detection is crucial for sensitive AP-MALDI applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a second-generation transmission mode (TM) AP-MALDI imaging platform.
• To enhance ion detection through in-line plasma postionization.
• To evaluate the efficacy of the SICRIT device for postionization in AP-MALDI.

Main Methods:

• Development of a transmission mode (TM) AP-MALDI imaging platform.
• Integration of the commercially available SICRIT device for in-line plasma postionization.
• Comparison of ionization enhancement with a previous low-temperature plasma probe.

Main Results:

• The SICRIT device provided significant ionization enhancement for various compounds.
• The SICRIT device demonstrated higher overall enhancement compared to the previous plasma probe.
• The SICRIT device offers ease of installation and minimal optimization requirements.

Conclusions:

• The second-generation TM-AP-MALDI platform with SICRIT postionization improves ion detection.
• The SICRIT device is an attractive, commercially available tool for AP-MALDI postionization.
• This approach enhances the utility of AP-MALDI for sensitive mass spectrometry imaging.