Laser desorption mass spectrometry of synthetic multiporphyrin arrays

✍ Scribed by David Fenyo; Brian T. Chait; Thomas E. Johnson; Jonathan S. Lindsey

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 177 KB
• Volume: 01
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1088-4246
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1409(199701)1:1<93::aid-jpp11>3.0.co;2-x

✦ Synopsis

Laser desorption mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) have been investigated for the analysis of a set of synthetic compounds containing one, two, five, eight or nine porphyrins. Intact singly ionized molecule ions were observed for each compound and the spectra were readily interpretable. The use of a matrix of 4-hydroxy-α-cyano-cinnamic acid greatly diminished the extent of fragmentation. Examination of the resulting mass spectra provides insight into aspects of the MALDI process. The present results show that high molecular weight photochemically active materials that absorb strongly at the wavelength of laser illumination can be analysed effectively and that MALDI-MS is a powerful analytical tool for synthetic chemistry of porphyrin-based molecules with dimensions ranging to 10 nm. The strong molecule ions observed for the largest compounds investigated (Zn 8 -octamer, Zn 9 -nonamer) indicates that this method should be applicable to even larger porphyrin arrays.