Method and apparatus for maldi analysis
US5777324A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 19, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jul 7, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 19, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC40B60/14
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization is performed in a manner to thermalize large analyte ions in a plume of desorbed material for spectroscopic analysis. The thermalized ions have a low or zero mean velocity and are presented at a well-defined instant in time, reducing artifacts and sharpening the spectral peaks. In one embodiment the light is delivered to a matrix or sample holder having a cover, baffle or compartment. The baffle or compartment impedes or contains a plume of desorbed material and the analyte undergoes collisions to lower its mean velocity and directionality. Thus "thermalized" the analyte ions are passed to a mass analysis instrument. In a preferred embodiment an optical fiber butts up against a thin transparent plate on which the specimen resides, with the matrix side in a vacuum acceleration chamber. A mechanical stage moves the specimen in both the x- and y-directions to select a point on the specimen which is to receive the radiation. The use of a fiber optic illuminator allows the entire stage assembly to be subsumed essentially within the dimensions of a conventional stage. In other embodiments, a thermalizing compartment is provided in a capillary t…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.