Categories of exhibits
MALDI target plate MTP 384
Exhibit no. 353
In MALDI-MS, the sample is first co-crystallized with an excess of a chemical known as matrix, which can absorb photons from a laser beam. The sample is prepared on a target plate, typically with multiple positions for samples. After drying, the target plate with the deposits is inserted into a MALDI source and irradiated with a laser operating mostly in the UV range. The laser pulse makes the sample desorb and the analyte molecules are ionized in the hot plume of the ablated material. The ionization efficiency in MALDI depends on many factors including the matrix, analyte-to-matrix ratio, crystal morphology, or laser energy. Various sample preparation protocols are used to prepare crystals of desired shapes and sizes. Among other things, the target plate surface plays an important role in the complex magic of the sample preparation form MALDI. Therefore, manufacturers supply targets with differently modified surfaces, including ground or polished stainless steel, gold plated, or ultra-flat metal-plated glass targets.
The exhibit is a ground steel reusable target plate with 384 sample positions from Bruker Daltonics. Once inserted into a frame, the plate is used with a ScoutMTP type ion source found in autoflex and ultraflex series MALDI-TOF instruments. It is a standard target plate for fast, simple, and robust MALDI preparation of almost all types of samples. These MALDI target plates have a highly regular fine structure on the surface, enabling highly homogenous co-crystallized preparations (dried droplet method).
