New paper in Analytical Chemistry

Taryn and colleagues have recently published in Analytical Chemistry their work showing internal recalibration using a thin layer of silver sputter-coated onto functionalized pSi substrates for nanostructure imaging mass spectrometry (NIMS) of fingerprints.

Nanostructure imaging mass spectrometry (NIMS) using porous silicon (pSi) is a key technique for molecular imaging of exogenous and endogenous low molecular weight compounds from fingerprints. However, high-mass-accuracy NIMS can be difficult to achieve as time-of-flight (ToF) mass analyzers, which dominate the field, cannot sufficiently compensate for shifts in measured m/z values. Here, we show internal recalibration using a thin layer of silver (Ag) sputter-coated onto functionalized pSi substrates. NIMS peaks for several previously reported fingerprint components were selected and mass accuracy was compared to theoretical values. Mass accuracy was improved by more than an order of magnitude in several cases. This straightforward method should form part of the standard guidelines for NIMS studies for spatial characterization of small molecules.

You can find out more in Scils website or in Analytical Chemistry, 87 (2015), 11195-11202