Laser ablation/ionizaton and mass spectrometric analysis of massive polymers
First Claim
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1. A method of analyzing an organic sample containing one or more compounds of high molecular weight comprising:
- selecting an organic sample containing one or more high molecular weight compounds;
dissolving said sample in a solvent to form a solution;
dissolving in said solution a soluble compound containing atoms of one or more metals having a low ionization potential;
cooling a sample state and depositing said solution on a surface of said sample stage to form a frozen thin film of said solution on said sample stage;
placing said film-coated sample stage in a chamber and evacuating said chamber to high vacuum while maintaining said film in a frozen state;
exposing said film to a laser pulse at a wavelength absorbed efficiently by the sample stage, said laser pulse rapidly heating the surface of said sample stage to ablate said film and create a plume of solvent vapor containing intact molecules of the organic sample and metal atoms;
tuning said laser pulse to wavelengths coincident with resonant electronic transitions in said metal atoms in said vapor plume to create ions of said metal atoms by multiphoton ionization during the laser pulse, said ions of the metal atoms attaching to said molecules of the organic sample to form molecular ions; and
accelerating said molecular ions into a mass spectrometer to determine the masses of said molecular ions, and identify the molecular components of said organic sample.
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Abstract
A sample containing one or more compounds of high molecular weight is analyzed by irradiating, with a pulsed laser in vacuum, a substrate coated with a thin frozen film of a solution containing the sample. The laser energy is absorbed at the surface of the substrate, rapidly heating the frozen film and ablating the solvent into a vapor plume which carries into the vapor phase entrained molecules of the sample. The vaporized molecules are ionized and accelerated into a mass spectrometer. Mass spectrometric determination of the masses of the ionized molecules of the sample allows the molecular components of the sample to be identified.
104 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of analyzing an organic sample containing one or more compounds of high molecular weight comprising:
- selecting an organic sample containing one or more high molecular weight compounds;
dissolving said sample in a solvent to form a solution;
dissolving in said solution a soluble compound containing atoms of one or more metals having a low ionization potential;
cooling a sample state and depositing said solution on a surface of said sample stage to form a frozen thin film of said solution on said sample stage;
placing said film-coated sample stage in a chamber and evacuating said chamber to high vacuum while maintaining said film in a frozen state;
exposing said film to a laser pulse at a wavelength absorbed efficiently by the sample stage, said laser pulse rapidly heating the surface of said sample stage to ablate said film and create a plume of solvent vapor containing intact molecules of the organic sample and metal atoms;
tuning said laser pulse to wavelengths coincident with resonant electronic transitions in said metal atoms in said vapor plume to create ions of said metal atoms by multiphoton ionization during the laser pulse, said ions of the metal atoms attaching to said molecules of the organic sample to form molecular ions; and
accelerating said molecular ions into a mass spectrometer to determine the masses of said molecular ions, and identify the molecular components of said organic sample. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
- selecting an organic sample containing one or more high molecular weight compounds;
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Current AssigneeArizona Board of Regents (University of Arizona)
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Original AssigneeArizona Board of Regents (University of Arizona)
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InventorsWilliams, Peter, Nelson, Randall W.
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Primary Examiner(s)Housel, James C.
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Assistant Examiner(s)WALLENHORST, MAUREEN
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Application NumberUS07/531,834Time in Patent Office795 DaysField of Search436/173, 436/174, 436/181, 436/86, 436/85, 436/94, 364/300, 364/301, 250/288, 250/282US Class Current436/173CPC Class CodesH01J 49/04 Arrangements for introducin...Y10T 436/143333 Saccharide [e.g., DNA, etc.]Y10T 436/24 Nuclear magnetic resonance,...Y10T 436/25 including sample preparationY10T 436/25875 Gaseous sample or with chan...
