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Effects of matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization experimental conditions on quantitative compositional analysis of ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymers
Author(s) -
Chen Rui,
Zhang Nan,
Tseng Amy M.,
Li Liang
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0231(20001215)14:23<2175::aid-rcm150>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - chemistry , ethylene oxide , propylene oxide , copolymer , desorption , oxide , matrix (chemical analysis) , quantitative analysis (chemistry) , chemical engineering , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , chromatography , polymer , adsorption , engineering
Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry has the potential to become a valuable tool for the compositional analysis of copolymers. For a copolymer composed of structurally very similar building blocks with minor chain length changes, one would expect the relative peak intensities observed in the MALDI mass spectra to reflect its composition, at least within a narrow mass range. However, we show that variations in experimental conditions in MALDI can have a significant effect on the mass spectral appearance of a copolymer. The effects of concentration, laser power, type of matrices and solvents on mass spectra of an ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymer are illustrated. These somewhat surprising results show that great care needs to be exercised when interpreting copolymer spectra for compositional analysis, even for copolymers with structurally similar monomers. This work also points out that further studies are needed to better understand and optimize spectral acquisition conditions for reliable copolymer compositional analysis by MALDI. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.