SUPPRESSION OF MATRIX IONS IN ULTRAVIOLET-LASER DESORPTION - SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY AND RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY OF THE SOLID SAMPLES

Suppression of low-mass ion peaks in matrix-assisted ultraviolet laser desorption has been found to occur at low matrix-to-analyte molar ratios when using nicotinic acid as matrix, independent of the angle of illumination. Microscopic Raman scattering spectroscopy has been employed to investigate the matrix-analyte solid-state composition. The matrix-to-analyte molar ratios employed in preparing the solutions are reliable guides to the relative amounts of matrix and analyte molecules in the solid crystals, given the method of sample preparation employed involving drying under a stream of nitrogen. A qualitative model based on the proton supply-and-demand argument is tentatively proposed to explain the suppression phenomenon.