Fundamental Investigations of the Mechanism of Laser Desorption and Ionization in Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption / Ionization

The recent development of Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption / Ionization (MALDI) has sparked a revolution in the field of high molecular weight mass spectrometry.1 Time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectra of proteins weighing up to 300,000 Da are now routinely produced and this achievement has fostered a variety of bioanalytical applications which were previously unapproachable using conventional mass spectrometric techniques. These successful applications have burgeoned in spite of a poor understanding of the mechanism of analyte desorption and ionization under MALDI conditions. An improved understanding of the MALDI mechanism should aid in overcoming a number of limitations of the current state-of-the-art and forms the motivation for the work described.