Charging megadalton poly(ethylene oxide)s by electrospray ionization. A charge detection mass spectrometry study

Tristan Doussineau; Michel Kerleroux; Xavier Dagany; Christian Clavier; Marc Barbaire; Jacques Maurelli; Rodolphe Antoine; Philippe Dugourd

doi:10.1002/rcm.4900

Charging megadalton poly(ethylene oxide)s by electrospray ionization. A charge detection mass spectrometry study

Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2011 Mar 15;25(5):617-23. doi: 10.1002/rcm.4900.

Authors

Tristan Doussineau¹, Michel Kerleroux, Xavier Dagany, Christian Clavier, Marc Barbaire, Jacques Maurelli, Rodolphe Antoine, Philippe Dugourd

Affiliation

¹ Université de Lyon, France.

PMID: 21290448
DOI: 10.1002/rcm.4900

Abstract

Ions from compounds of megadalton (MDa) molecular weight were produced in an electrospray ionization source from solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) samples with average molecular weights ranging from 1,000,000 to 7,000,000 Da. Charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) has been used to determine the mass of the MDa PEOs. Simultaneous measurement of the charge and velocity of individual ions allows the mass determination of the ion, after calibration of the instrument with independent samples. In addition to the mass spectra, CDMS generates charge-versus-mass plots, which allow investigation of the charging of electrosprayed ions over a broad range of masses. The experimental charging capacity of MDa PEOs is compared with a simple model based on the affinity of alkali cations for oxygen sites and on the electrostatic potential energy of the charged polymer. The charging capacity of PEOs was also investigated as a function of the concentration of and the type of alkali ions.