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Matrix‐assisted laser desorption time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry of oligonucleotides using 3‐hydroxypicolinic acid as an ultraviolet‐sensitive matrix
Author(s) -
Wu Kuang Jen,
Steding Anna,
Becker Christopher H.
Publication year - 1993
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/rcm.1290070206
Subject(s) - chemistry , mass spectrometry , desorption , mass spectrum , ion , oligonucleotide , analytical chemistry (journal) , matrix (chemical analysis) , matrix isolation , dimer , ionization , matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization , ultraviolet , soft laser desorption , chromatography , dna , molecule , organic chemistry , optics , biochemistry , physics , adsorption
Matrix‐assisted laser desorption time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry has been used to produce quasimolecular ion signals from underivatized mixed‐base single‐stranded DNA oligomers ranging from 10 to 67 nucleotides in length. These results were obtained with a new matrix material, 3‐hydroxypicolinic acid (3‐hydroxypyridine‐2‐carboxylic acid)which showed significant improvement over many previously reported matrices studied in terms of mass range available, signal‐to‐noise ratio, and the ability to analyze mixed base oligomers. The desorption and simultaneous ionization was by pulsed laser light at 10 to 50 mJ/cm 2 , studied at 266, 308, and 355 nm. Spectra taken at 266 nm provided the smallest amounts of doubly charged and dimer ions—characteristics desirable for DNA sequencing by this technology. Negative‐ion spectra were uniformly superior to positive‐ion spectra. This new matrix also is quite effective for molecular weight determinations of peptides and proteins in both positive‐ and negative‐ion modes.