Laser Desorption Ionization-Mass Spectrometry Detection of Amino Acids and Peptides Promoted by Gold Nanowires

Gold nanowires (Au-NWs) have been obtained by means of the LPNE (Lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition) technique, which combines the attributes of photolithography with the versatility of a bottom-up electrodeposition. Au-NWs have been characterized in terms of surface chemical composition and morphology using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction for the assessment of the crystalline structure. Finally, Au-NWs have been used as desorption/ionization promoters for the Laser-Induced Desorption-Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LDI-MS) detection of analytes with molecular weight below 1000 Th, such as aminoacids and peptides.