Application of nanomaterials for desorption mass spectrometry

Iva Tomalová

Advances in nanotechnology and nanomaterial developments have been reflected in the field of
(bio)analytical chemistry in the recent years. Two applications of nanomaterials for biomolecule
analysis based on desorption mass spectrometry will be presented. The first approach employs gold
nanoparticles as the extraction and desorption probes for small molecule analysis by
surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry; the potential as well as the
limitations of the method have been investigated. In the second part, polyethylene terephthalate
glycol plates coated with a golden nanolayer will be introduced as promising sample targets for
off-line coupling of separation techniques with both molecular- and element-specific mass
spectrometry.