Lasers, types ionization

Bright, J. J. Claydon, M. A. Soufian, M. Gordon, D. B. Rapid typing of bacteria using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry and pattern recognition software. J. Microbiol. Meth. 2002,48,127-138. 

It is therefore not surprising that the interest in PyMS as a typing tool diminished at the turn of the twenty-first century and hence why taxonomists have turned to MS-based methods that use soft ionization methods such as electrospray ionization (ESI-MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI MS). These methods generate information-rich spectra of metabolites and proteins, and because the molecular ion is seen, the potential for biomarker discovery is being realized. The analyses of ESI-MS and MALDI-MS data will still need chemometric methods, and it is hoped that researchers in these areas can look back and learn from the many PyMS studies where machine learning was absolutely necessary to turn the complex pyrolysis MS data into knowledge of bacterial identities. 

Also for MALDI, there is a special case worth mentioning. Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) is a technique that utilizes special sample plates [196, 197]. These have different modified surfaces, for example, hydrophobic, anionic, or antibody treated. Which type of surface to select depends on the application. After application of analyte the surface is washed according to a protocol leaving only the desired components on the target. Finally, a MALDI matrix is applied before analysis in the spectrometer. See Chapter 12 for an application example of SELDI. 

There are three types of ion production using lasers as vaporization and ionization sources, laser ablation (LA), direct laser vaporization (DLV), and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI). 

The development glycopeptide libraries obtained by the split-mix method is severely hampered by the lack of concurrent development of a general, facile separation and characterization technology. Some headway has been made with chemical coding of the libraries, but very few direct methods of analysis exist. One promising method that could be applied to the direct characterization of both types of libraries is mass spectrometry. More specifically, post-source-decay matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PSD-MALDI-TOF-MS) and CID-FAB/MS/MS have been used to characterize glycopeptides.53-55... 

Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS) technology have provided researchers with an unparalleled ability to identify the types and patterns of secondary biochemical modifications found on proteins in living cells. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-MS (MALDI-MS) analyses have shown, for example, that HMGA proteins in vivo are simultaneously subject to complex patterns of phosphorylation, acetylation and methylation and that, within the same cell type, different isoforms of these proteins can exhibit quite different modification patterns [33]. Furthermore, these in vivo modifications have been demonstrated to markedly alter the binding affinity of HMGA proteins for both DNA and chromatin substrates in vitro [33]. Nevertheless, due to their number and complexity, it has been difficult to determine the actual biological function(s) played by these biochemical modifications in living cells. 

In a related approach, arrays with different types of surface chemistries such as hydrophobic, hydrophilic, anionic, and affinity are used to absorb certain protein groups from biological or patient samples. The chip-absorbed proteins are then directly detected by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS (SELDl-TOF MS) (Issaq et al. 2002). The resulting protein masses can be used in pattern analysis and thereby provide a useful diagnostic tool. 

MALDI-TOFF stands for matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight. MALDI refers to the source of ionization whereas TOF indicates type of the mass analyzer. 

In 1974, Comarisov and Marshall60 developed Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS). This technique allows mass spectrometric measurements at ultrahigh mass resolution (R = 100000-1000000), which is higher than that of any other type of mass spectrometer and has the highest mass accuracy at attomole detection limits. FTICR-MS is applied today together with soft ionization techniques, such as nano ESI (electrospray ionization) or MALDI (matrix assisted laser/desorption ionization) sources. 

Dreisewerd, K., Rohlfing, A., Spottke, B., Urbanke, C., and Henkel, W. (2004). Characterization of whole fibril-forming collagen proteins of types I, III, and V from foetal calf skin by infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Anal. Chem. 76, 3482-3491. 

Mass spectrometers are used not only to detect the masses of proteins and peptides, but also to identify the proteins, to compare patterns of proteins and peptides, and to scan tissue sections for specific masses. MS is able to do this by giving the mass-to-charge ratio of an ionized species as well as its relative abundance. For biological sample analysis, mass spectrometers are connected to an ionizing source, which is usually matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) [14], surface-enhanced laser desorption/ioni-zation (SELDI, a modified form of MALDI) [15], or electrospray ionization [16]. These interfaces enable the transfer of the peptides or proteins from the solid or liquid phase, respectively, to the gas (vacuum) phase inside the mass spectrometer. Both MALDI and electrospray ionization can be connected to different types of mass analyzers, such as quadrupole, quadruple-ion-traps, time of flight (TOF), or hybrid instruments such as quadrupole-TOF or Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance. Each of these instruments can... 

Developments in mass spectrometry technology, together with the availability of extensive DNA and protein sequence databases and software tools for data mining, has made possible rapid and sensitive mass spectrometry-based procedures for protein identification. Two basic types of mass spectrometers are commonly used for this purpose Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS. MALDI-TOF instruments are now quite common in biochemistry laboratories and are very simple to use, requiring no special training. ESI instruments, usually coupled to capillary/nanoLC systems, are more complex and require expert operators. We will therefore focus on the use of MALDI-... 

Because of expected electrical, electrochemical, optical, chemo-sensor, and other properties of the ball-type Pcs, several metallo and metal-free ball-type Pcs with different linkers have been reported. Metallo and metal free ball-type Pcs containing four calyx[4]arene units as linkers have been synthesized, Fig. 1 [37], The structures of compounds 1-3 were confirmed by UV-vis, IR, 1II-NMR, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), and elemental analysis. Because of their unique structure and versatile complexation properties [38], calixarenes were found to be one type of interesting compounds to be incorporated into Pc. The cone conformation of the t-butylcalix[4]arene direct... 

Laser Desorption Ionization. A pulsed laser beam can be used to ionize samples for mass spectrometry. Because this method of ionization is pulsed, it must be used with either a time of flight or a Fourier transform mass spectrometer (Section 1.4.5). Two types of lasers have found widespread use A COz laser, which emits radiation in the far infrared region, and a frequency-quadrupled neodymium/yttriumaluminum-garnet (Nd/YAG) laser, which emits radiation in the UV region at 266 nm. Without matrix assistance, the method is limited to low molecular weight molecules (<2 kDa). 

From the development of a comprehensive model of the factors leading to instabilities in molecular discharges, Haas [87] has found that these systems are prone to several modes of instability. Of these modes, the conditions leading to the development of ionization and neutral particle energy transfer modes of instabilities have been found to be most easily satisfied under laser conditions. Ionization instabilities are produced when conditions enhance the temporal amplification of an imbalance between electron production and loss processes. The characteristic growth time for this type of instability that has been found to be independent of pressure and power density is in the 10-8-10 4 sec range [53, 78, 87], In contrast, neutral particle energy transfer instability modes that occur due to amplification of disturbances in translational... 

M. K. Fatema, H. Nonami, D. R. B. Ducatti, A. G. Gonqalves, M. E. R. Duarte, M. D. Noseda, A. S. Cerezo, R. Erra-Balsells, and M. C. Matulewicz, Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry analysis of oligosaccharides and oligosaccharide alditols obtained by hydrolysis of agaroses and carrageenans, two important types of red seaweed polysaccharides, Carbohydr. Res., 345 (2010) 275-283. 

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