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Polymeric spatial resolution test patterns for mass spectrometry imaging using nano‐thermal analysis with atomic force microscopy
Author(s) -
Tai Tamin,
Kertesz Vilmos,
Lin MingWei,
Srijanto Bernadeta R.,
Hensley Dale K.,
Xiao Kai,
Van Berkel Gary J.
Publication year - 2017
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.7894
Subject(s) - resolution (logic) , mass spectrometry , image resolution , chemistry , microscopy , chemical imaging , analytical chemistry (journal) , lithography , characterization (materials science) , electron beam lithography , nanotechnology , optics , materials science , optoelectronics , resist , remote sensing , hyperspectral imaging , chromatography , physics , computer science , artificial intelligence , geology , layer (electronics)
Rationale As the spatial resolution of mass spectrometry imaging technologies has begun to reach into the nanometer regime, finding readily available or easily made resolution reference materials has become particularly challenging for molecular imaging purposes. This paper describes the fabrication, characterization and use of vertical line array polymeric spatial resolution test patterns for nano‐thermal analysis/atomic force microscopy/mass spectrometry chemical imaging. Methods Test patterns of varied line width (0.7 or 1.0 μm) and spacing (0.7 or 1.0 μm) were created in an ~1‐μm‐thick poly(methyl methacrylate) thin film using electron beam lithography. The patterns were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy topography and nano‐thermal analysis/mass spectrometry imaging. Results The efficacy of these polymeric test patterns for the advancement of chemical imaging techniques was illustrated by their use to judge the spatial resolution improvement achieved by heating the ionization interface of the current instrument platform. The spatial resolution of the mass spectral chemical images was estimated to be 1.4 μm, based on the ability to statistically distinguish 0.7‐μm‐wide lines separated by 0.7‐μm‐wide spacings in those images when the interface cross was heated to 200°C. Conclusions This work illustrates that e‐beam lithography is a viable method to create spatial resolution test patterns in a thin film of high molecular weight polymer to allow unbiased judgment of intra‐laboratory advancement and/or inter‐laboratory comparison of instrument advances in nano‐thermal analysis/atomic force microscopy/mass spectrometry chemical imaging. Published in 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.