AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition
    Biomaterial Interfaces Tuesday Sessions
       Session BI+AS-TuA

Paper BI+AS-TuA12
Mass Spectrometry using Femtosecond Lasers and Postionization to Characterize Biomaterials Interfaces

Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 6:00 pm, Room 317

Session: Characterization of Biointerfaces
Presenter: Luke Hanley, University of Illinois at Chicago
Authors: Y. Cui, University of Illinois at Chicago
Y.P. Yung, University of Illinois at Chicago
L. Hanley, University of Illinois at Chicago
Correspondent: Click to Email
Secondary ion mass spectrometry (MS), matrix assisted laser desorption ionization MS, electrospray-based MS and other strategies are widely used for the analysis of intact bacterial biofilms, mammalian tissue, cell cultures, and their interfaces with biomaterials [Bhardwaj & Hanley, Nat. Prod. Rev. (2014) dx.doi.org/10.1039/C3NP70094A ]. The combination of these desorption/ionization methods with high resolution MS and tandem MS capabilities permit metabolomic and proteomic imaging of such samples. Nevertheless, their use to detect many analyte classes within intact biological samples still often suffers from low sensitivity, selective ionization, and/or poor spatial or depth resolution. Laser desorption with ultrashort pulses can remove material from a solid with minimal damage to the remaining sample, potentially allowing both depth profiling and additionally, higher spatial resolution [Cui, et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 5 (2013) 9269]. Furthermore, laser desorbed neutrals can undergo postionization by vacuum ultraviolet or ultrashort pulse radiation for subsequent detection by MS. Postionization has the additional advantage that proper selection of the delay time between the desorption and postionization laser can improve molecular analysis. Here, we demonstrate the small molecule imaging capability of these methods on intact, multispecies microbial biofilms and other complex organic/biological samples. Finally, comparisons are made to laser desorption MS under atmospheric pressure.