Platinum nanoflowers for surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of biomolecules

No-template synthesis of surface clean platinum nanomaterials with thin projections (petals) on the Pt nanoparticle surface, termed Pt nanoflowers, has been developed, and Pt nanoflowers have achieved superior performance on surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) of biomolecules. With this new material, one can obtain high-resolution mass spectra with lower laser energy and smaller sample amounts, and no organic matrix is needed for laser desorption/ionization. The mass spectra also have fewer obstacle peaks at the lower m/z region. Furthermore, this novel substrate is quite stable against aging and showed no sweet-spot problems, that is, equal sensitivity on the whole substrate surface. Various biomolecules, including peptides and phospholipids, were examined, and Pt nanoflowers showed good performance for matrix-free laser desorption/ionization MS of these materials.