Detection of Amine Impurity and Quality Assessment of the MALDI Matrix α-Cyano-4-Hydroxy-Cinnamic Acid for Peptide Analysis in the amol Range

We have studied sample preparation conditions to increase the reproducibility of positive UV-MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry of peptides in the amol range. By evaluating several alpha-cyano-4-hydroxy-cinnamic acid (CHCA) matrix batches and preparation protocols, it became apparent that two factors have a large influence on the reproducibility and the quality of the generated peptide mass spectra: (1) the selection of the CHCA matrix, which allows the most sensitive measurements and an easier finding of the sweet spots, and (2) the amount of the sample volume deposited onto the thin crystalline matrix layer. We have studied in detail the influence of a contaminant, coming from commercial CHCA matrix batches, on sensitivity of generated peptide mass spectra in the amol as well as fmol range of a tryptic peptide mixture. The structure of the contaminant, N,N-dimethylbutyl amine, was determined by applying MALDI-FT-ICR mass spectrometry experiments for elemental composition and MALDI high energy CID experiments utilizing a tandem mass spectrometer (TOF/RTOF). A recrystallization of heavily contaminated CHCA batches that reduces or eliminates the determined impurity is described. Furthermore, a fast and reliable method for the assessment of CHCA matrix batches prior to tryptic peptide MALDI mass spectrometric analyses is presented.