This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We are intrigued with the potential of ionic liquids as matrices for MALDI mass spectrometry. Our first publication on this subject (Armstrong, Daniel W.; Zhang, Li-Kang; He, Lingfeng; Gross, Michael L. Ionic liquids as matrixes for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Anal. Chem. (2001), 73(15), 3679-3686) introduced the concept and reported some compelling advantages. Perhaps the most important advantage is the homogeneous nature of the sample 'spot' that is produced on the sample stage. The research in the article was entirely empirical, and now we are exploring the fundamental principles behind the use of ionic liquids as matrices in MALDI. Efforts are also being made to improve the sensitivity of the method and to provide 'rules' that would aid in the selection and synthesis of the matrix. We plan to investigate the utility of such matrices in proteomics by digesting various model proteins and evaluating our ability to identify them based on the mass tags provided by MALDI with ionic-liquid matrices. We also are applying these matrix developments to the analysis of the six classes of phospholipids. This is an area where MALDI has had almost no impact until now.
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