Synergistic effect of Ag/MXene for efficient protein ionization in paper spray mass spectrometry†

Abstract

Ti₃C₂T_x (MXene) was coated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles using a bio-inspired surface coating method. The resulting composite material, Ag/MXene (AgMX), was applied in paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS) for efficient protein ionization. The intensity of protein obtained by AgMX PSI-MS was enhanced about 3–6 times when compared to conventional PSI. AgMX PSI-MS demonstrated strong potential for quantitative analysis and exhibited good salt tolerance.