Analysis of native biological surfaces using a 100kV Massive Gold Cluster Source

• Published in: Analytical chemistry (Washington) 2011-10, Vol.83 (22), p.8448-8453
• Main Authors: Fernandez-Lima, Francisco A., Post, Jeremy, DeBord, John D., Eller, Michael J., Verkhoturov, Stanislav V., Della-Negra, Serge, Woods, Amina S., Schweikert, Emile A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0003-2700; 1520-6882
• DOI: 10.1021/ac201481r

In the present work, the advantages of a new, 100kV platform equipped with a massive gold cluster source for the analysis of native biological surfaces are shown. Inspection of the molecular ion emission as a function of projectile size demonstrate a secondary ion yield increase of ~100x for 520 keV Au 400 +4 as compared to 130 keV Au 3 +1 and 43 keV C 60 . In particular, yields of tens of percent of molecular ions per projectile impact for the most abundant components can be observed with the 520 keV Au 400 +4 probe, respectively. A comparison between 520 keV Au 400 +4 ToF-SIMS and MALDI-MS data showed a similar pattern and similar relative intensities of lipids’ components across a rat brain sagittal section. The abundant secondary ion yields of analyte-specific ions makes 520 keV Au 400 4+ projectiles an attractive probe for sub-μm molecular mapping of native surfaces.