Investigations of electrospray sample deposition for polymer MALDI mass spectrometry

In the interest of a more thorough understanding of the relationship between sample deposition technique and the quality of data obtained using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry, details of the electrospray (ES) process of sample deposition are investigated using a number of techniques. Sample morphology was observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), while matrix-enhanced secondary ion mass spectrometry (MESIMS) monitored surface coverage. Electrospray deposition reduces the analyte segregation that can occur during traditional dried droplet deposition for MALDI. We attribute statistically significant improvements in the reproducibility of signal intensity and MALDI average molecular mass measurements to the ES sample deposition technique. (C) 2004 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.