The influence of matrix and laser energy on the molecular mass distribution of synthetic polymers obtained by MALDI-TOF-MS

The molecular mass distribution (MMD) obtained in synthetic polymer characterization by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) may be biased by preferential desorption/ionization of low mass polymer molecules, preferential ion attachment to larger polymers, or degradation and fragmentation due to the desorption process. In this study we focus on the effect of matrix and laser energy on the MMD of four synthetic polymers of low polydispersity with varying thermal stabilities. The four polymers considered were polystyrene (PS), poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(tetrahydrofuran) (PTHF). The matrix in which the polymer is analyzed may also influence the laser energy effect of MALDI and was also considered in this paper. Three common matrixes were considered, dithranol, all trans-retinoic acid (RA) and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB). Statistical analyses of the molecular mass distributions, obtained by varying laser energy and matrixes, reveal trends that can be used to describe the influences of matrix and laser energy on MALDI-TOF-MS data measurement of synthetic polymers. The statistical analysis revealed that the matrix has a greater effect on the polymer MMD than was expected. Polymers analyzed in DHB yielded lower mass moments than polymers analyzed in RA and dithranol. The effects of laser power on the MMD of the polymers were found to be matrix dependent. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.