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Surface‐Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometric Detection of Biomolecules by Using Functional Single‐Walled Carbon Nanohorns as the Matrix
Author(s) -
Ma Rongna,
Lu Minghua,
Ding Lin,
Ju Huangxian,
Cai Zongwei
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201202838
Subject(s) - biomolecule , analyte , aptamer , desorption , chemistry , ionization , matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization , detection limit , mass spectrometry , matrix (chemical analysis) , analytical chemistry (journal) , chromatography , ion , adsorption , organic chemistry , biochemistry , genetics , biology
A surface‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometric (SALDI‐TOF MS) method was developed for the analysis of small biomolecules by using functional single‐walled carbon nanohorns (SWNHs) as matrix. The functional SWNHs could transfer energy to the analyte under laser irradiation for accelerating its desorption and ionization, which led to low matrix effect, avoided fragmentation of the analyte, and provided high salt tolerance. Biomolecules including amino acids, peptides, and fatty acids could successfully be analyzed with about 3‐ and 5‐fold higher signals than those obtained using conventional matrix. By integrating the advantages of SWNHs and the recognition ability of aptamers, a selective approach was proposed for simultaneous capture, enrichment, ionization, and MS detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This method showed a greatly improved detection limit (1.0 μ M ) for the analysis of ATP in complex biological samples. This newly designed protocol not only opened a new application of SWNHs, but also offered a new technique for selective MS analysis of biomolecules based on aptamer recognition systems.