Protein ion production by fast heavy ion induced desorption

Abstract

Fast heavy ions from the Uppsala EN-tandem accelerator, as well as fission fragments from a ²⁵²Cf-source, have been used to produce quasi-molecular ions of proteins in the molecular weight range 1000–14000. Measured time-of-flight spectra show contributions of neutrals, metastable ion decay products, Coulomb breakup of multiply charged ions and polymer ions. The mechanism for production of these quasi-molecular ions will be discussed within the framework of an ion-track model.