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Investigation of novel sol–gel hydrophobic surfaces for desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry analysis

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Abstract

Sol–gel-based materials were synthesized, characterized and finally tested as solid supports for desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) analysis of a mixture of compounds of different polarity. Films with thickness in the 2–4 μm range were obtained by a dip-coating process using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and octyltriethoxysilane (OTES) as sol–gel precursors. Three types of surface with different hydrophobic character were obtained by varying the TEOS/OTES ratio in the sol–gel mixture. Each coating was characterized by atomic force microscopy investigations, gaining insight into homogeneity, smoothness and thickness of the obtained films. To study hydrophobicity of each surface, surface free energy measurements were performed. Different DESI-MS responses were observed when different solvent mixture deposition procedures and solvent spray compositions were investigated. Results were finally compared to those obtained by using commercial polytetrafluoroethylene-coated slides. It was found that surface free energy plays an important role in the desorption/ionization process as a function of the polarity of analytes.

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Acknowledgements

The facilities of the Centro Interdipartimentale Misure (CIM) “Giuseppe Casnati” (University of Parma) were used to perform AFM investigations. We are grateful to Dr. Carlo Vignali for the skilful assistance. Thanks also to Dr. Andrea Lorenzi and to Dr. Marco Rocchetti for the helpful discussions and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Chimica Generale ed Inorganica, Chimica Analitica, Chimica Fisica, Università degli Studi di Parma, Viale G.P. Usberti 17/A, 43124, Parma, Italy

    Andrea Penna, Lisa Elviri, Maria Careri, Alessandro Mangia & Giovanni Predieri

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  1. Andrea Penna
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  2. Lisa Elviri
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  3. Maria Careri
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  4. Alessandro Mangia
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  5. Giovanni Predieri
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Correspondence to Maria Careri.

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Penna, A., Elviri, L., Careri, M. et al. Investigation of novel sol–gel hydrophobic surfaces for desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry analysis. Anal Bioanal Chem 400, 1515–1523 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-4867-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-4867-9

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