Related Articles

• Analyzing a Specific Component using Group Analysis of msFineAnalysis Ver. 2 - MSTips 303

  In 2018, we announced the msFineAnalysis software which was designed to automatically integrate two types of data acquired by EI and soft ionization. Recently, we developed msFineAnalysis Version 2, an enhanced version with additional features. msFineAnalysis Version 2 incorporates two new features: Chromatographic Deconvolution and Group Analysis. In this work, we use the group analysis capabilities of the software to evaluate the pyrolysis GC-MS results for a vinyl acetate resin.
• Integrated Analysis of an Acrylic Resin using msFineAnalysis v2 - MSTips 300

  In 2018, msFineAnalysis Ver.1 software was released in which data acquired by EI, soft ionization, and accurate mass measurements were automatically integrated to generate a qualitative report for samples measured by these techniques with GC-MS. Recently, msFineAnalysis Ver.2 was introduced as an enhanced version with additional features. In this work, we will describe the changes in Ver.2, which now includes chromatographic deconvolution, and present applications using the new features.
• Analysis of Organic Thin Films by the Laser Desorption/Ionization Method Using the JMS-S3000 “SpiralTOF”

  Laser Desorption/ Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (LDI-TOFMS) is generally used for analysis of organic compounds because this technique generates little fragmentation of molecular ions at ionization. It makes possible to obtain information on molecular weights and molecular structures in organic compounds. In particular, a technique which uses the matrix compounds for enhancing ionization efficiency is well known as Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). This technique is widely used in the bio markets owing to its capability of ionizing proteins and peptides with the molecular weights of several thousands to several hundreds of thousands. The MALDI-TOFMS is also utilized for analysis of synthetic polymers. In many cases, LDI-TOFMS and MALDI-TOFMS have been used to estimate the molecular weights of organic compounds in solution. But very recently, techniques of imaging mass spectrometry, which controls the laser irradiation position by two-dimensional scan to acquire mass spectra for visualizing localization of chemical compounds with specific molecular weights, have been improved. The application of this innovative technique is increasingly spreading in the bio markets. The technology of Imaging Mass Spectrometry has been advancing for analyzing biological tissue sections, but in the future, it is expected to develop toward the material science markets. It is noted that various surface analytical techniques are already available in the material science markets. In order to study the advantages of LDI-TOFMS as one of effective surface analysis tools, it is essential to consider the complementary analysis of LDI-TOFMS with the existing surface analytical techniques. In this article, the advantages of using LDI-TOFMS for analyzing organic lightemitting diode material thin films, in accordance with comparison with Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), have been studied. In addition, since LDI-TOFMS is a destructive analytical technique, the influence on the sample surface caused by LDI-TOFMS was also examined.
• X-ray, Electron and NMR Crystallography to Structural Determination of Small Organic Molecules

  Here we present the recent development at RIKEN CLST-JEOL collaboration laboratory to explore the molecular structures of low-molecular weight pharmaceutical compounds in natural abundance (without any isotopic labeling); the recent progress in fast magic angle spinning (MAS) technology in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) and in ultra high sensitivity camera in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) paves a new way to answer problems in the pharmaceutical industry and sciences. 1) Crystalline polymorphs and 2) salt/cocrystal are two major concerns in terms of quality control, stability, and intellectual property. To identify the crystalline form, powder X-ray diffraction and 13C cross-polarization MAS ssNMR are widely used methods, however, the former is sometimes not suitable for mixture analysis and latter fails to distinguish crystalline forms with similar molecular conformations. To solve these issues, we use electron diffraction (ED) and 1H fast MAS NMR. The crystalline form can be determined from nano- to micro-meter sized single crystals using ED, since electron interactions are 4 to 5 order stronger than X-ray interactions. 1H NMR also gives suitable information to molecular packing since 1H is located at the surface of the crystals. The salt/cocrystal issue, where hydrogen plays a key role, is a serious problem, since single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) cannot determine the hydrogen atom position precisely. Here we determine the internuclear distances between 1H and 15N using ssNMR at fast MAS conditions, while the global structure is obtained through SCXRD, answering the salt/cocrystal questions.
• Analysis of organic compounds on an acrylic plate using JMS-S3000 SpiralTOF™ - MSTips - 251

  Industrial materials are often evaluated by surface analysis instruments that provide information on surface elements, bonding states, and functional groups. However, there are limited options for surface analysis techniques that provide molecular weight and molecular structure information for organic compounds present on surfaces. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization - Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) is a soft ionization technique that can be used to analyze surfaces in order to estimate elemental compositions with accurate mass measurements, obtain structural information by using MS/MS, and map surface compounds by using MS imaging. MALDI-TOFMS uses a high voltage on the target plate to accelerate the ions into the TOFMS analyzer. Therefore, the target plates are conductive and are typically made of stainless steel. MALDI imaging mass spectrometry is widely used for analyzing organic substances on frozen tissue sections. In this case, a frozen tissue section with a thickness of about 10 μm is placed on a conductive glass slide coated with an indium tin oxide (ITO) film. However, for the analysis of industrial products, the target organic compounds are on nonconductive substrates such as resins with millimeter thicknesses. MALDI-TOFMS surface measurements using nonconductive substrates lead to a reduction in mass resolution and a significant decrease in ion intensity due to surface charging. This problem can be solved by pretreating the surface with gold vapor deposition in order to change it from nonconductive to conductive. This method was previously shown to work well in MSTips No. 204 in which the gold vapor deposition method was applied to the MALDI-MS imaging analysis of inks on paper. In this report, we used gold vapor deposition to look at samples on the surface of a 1 mm thick acrylic plate.
• Analysis of organic compounds on an acrylic plate using JMS-S3000 "SpiralTOF"

  Industrial materials are often evaluated by surface analysis instruments that provide information on surface elements, bonding states, and functional groups. However, there are limited options for surface analysis techniques that provide molecular weight and molecular structure information for organic compounds present on surfaces. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization - Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) is a soft ionization technique that can be used to analyze surfaces in order to estimate elemental compositions with accurate mass measurements, obtain structural information by using MS/MS, and map surface compounds by using MS imaging. MALDI-TOFMS uses a high voltage on the target plate to accelerate the ions into the TOFMS analyzer. Therefore, the target plates are conductive and are typically made of stainless steel. MALDI imaging mass spectrometry is widely used for analyzing organic substances on frozen tissue sections. In this case, a frozen tissue section with a thickness of about 10 μm is placed on a conductive glass slide coated with an indium tin oxide (ITO) film. However, for the analysis of industrial products, the target organic compounds are on nonconductive substrates such as resins with millimeter thicknesses. MALDI-TOFMS surface measurements using nonconductive substrates lead to a reduction in mass resolution and a significant decrease in ion intensity due to surface charging. This problem can be solved by pretreating the surface with gold vapor deposition in order to change it from nonconductive to conductive. This method was previously shown to work well in MSTips No. 204 in which the gold vapor deposition method was applied to the MALDI-MS imaging analysis of inks on paper. In this report, we used gold vapor deposition to look at samples on the surface of a 1 mm thick acrylic plate.