Amorphous Conjugated Polymers as Efficient Dual-Mode MALDI Matrices for Low-Molecular-Weight Analytes

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Kilian Horatz - , Chair of Organic Chemistry of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Kristina Ditte - , Chair of Organic Chemistry of Polymers (Author)
  • Thomas Prenveille - , TUD Dresden University of Technology, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Ke-Nan Zhang - , TUD Dresden University of Technology, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Dieter Jehnichen - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Anton Kiriy - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Brigitte Voit - , Chair of Organic Chemistry of Polymers, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Franziska Lissel - , TUD Dresden University of Technology, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) usually employs highly crystalline small-molecule matrices, and the analyte is interpreted as being co-crystallized with the matrix. We recently showed that semi-crystalline polymers are efficient matrices for the detection of low-molecular-weight compounds (LMWCs) in MALDI MS and MALDI MS Imaging, and are dual-mode, i. e., enabling both positive and negative modes. The matrix performances of two fluorene/napthalene diimide co-polymers P(TNDIT-Fl(C4C2)) and P(TNDIT-Fl(C10C8)) were investigated and compared. Both are fully amorphous according to XRD measurements, show high relative absorption values at the wavelength of common MALDI lasers (lambda(Nd:YAG)=355 nm: C4C2=73 %; C10C8=67 %), and are solution processable. As matrices, they are dual-mode, and enable the detection of LMWCs while being mostly MALDI-silent. Compared with semicrystalline polymer matrices, the amorphous matrices give similar or better signal intensities, thus indicating that analyte inclusion takes place in the amorphous part of the polymer matrix.

Details

Original languageGerman
Pages (from-to)1338-1345
Number of pages8
JournalChemPlusChem
Volume84
Issue number9
Early online dateJul 2019
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2019
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 31944045
Scopus 85068898715
ORCID /0000-0002-4531-691X/work/148608088

Keywords

Keywords

  • MALDI mass spectrometry, Amorphous morphology, Conjugated polymers, Low-molecular-weight analytes, Matrices