MALDI TOF acronym stands for Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption and Ionization. Mass Spectrometry is the ionization technique and the type of mass analyzer. The discovery of MALDI ionization in 80´s enabled the detection of volatile compounds and high mass biomolecules. MALDI technology uses laser light (UV and/or IR) for ionization and desorption of molecules.
“Matrix” is usually an organic aromatic compound, which absorbs the laser energy and transfers it to the analyte, thus minimizing the fragmentation caused by a direct laser hit. MALDI is considered a “soft” ionization technique, since the extent of fragmentation of molecules and ions is rather low and some important structural information are preserved. There are very few methods, which can be compared to this technology in terms of variety and properties of samples, that can be analyzed.
Almost all samples can be analyzed with MALDI, starting with inorganic molecules (low mass), polymers, to high molecular weight proteins and their complexes (in the range of several hundred thousand kDa!), from non-polar to highly polar samples, soluble, as well as non-soluble, and also samples with high ionization potential. MALDI is still mostly applied for protein analyses, but the number and variety of MALDI applications is expanding.
Its Routine Applications Include Analyses Of:
Peptides, Lipids / phospholipids, Transition metal complexes, Vitamins (E, C, A, D), Natural products, e.g., flavonoids, Biotyping (identification of microorganisms), Oligocarbohydrates, Polymers (PEG, PAMAM, and others) and Isotopic distribution of transition metals and their compounds and complexes
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