Simple Pretreatment for the Analysis of Additives and Polymers by Surface-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Using a Through-Hole Alumina Membrane as a Functional Substrate

Hiroaki Sato; Sayaka Nakamura; Thierry N J Fouquet; Takayuki Ohmura; Masahiro Kotani; Yasuhide Naito

doi:10.1021/jasms.9b00048

Simple Pretreatment for the Analysis of Additives and Polymers by Surface-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Using a Through-Hole Alumina Membrane as a Functional Substrate

J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2020 Feb 5;31(2):298-307. doi: 10.1021/jasms.9b00048. Epub 2019 Dec 27.

Authors

Hiroaki Sato¹, Sayaka Nakamura¹, Thierry N J Fouquet¹, Takayuki Ohmura², Masahiro Kotani², Yasuhide Naito³

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry , National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) , 1-1-1 Higashi , Tsukuba , Ibaraki 305-8565 , Japan.
² Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. , 314-5 Shimokanzo , Iwata , Shizuoka 438-0193 , Japan.
³ The Graduate School for the Creation of New Photonics Industries , 1955-1 Kurematsu-cho, Nishi-ku , Hamamatsu , Shizuoka 431-1202 , Japan.

PMID: 32031406
DOI: 10.1021/jasms.9b00048

Abstract

The analysis of additives and polymers was performed by desorption ionization using through-hole alumina membrane (DIUTHAME) as a functional substrate for both sample pretreatment and surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) mass spectrometry. Using the unique absorbing/filtering capabilities of DIUTHAME and investigating the solubility of analytes/bulk materials in some solvents, three pretreatment techniques were demonstrated with (1) the selective removal of hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based components from a "PEO-monostearate" sample, (2) the on-chip filtration of solubilized decabromodiphenylether (DBDE) from a solution of polystyrene that had been preliminarily precipitated, and (3) the on-chip extraction of antioxidants (Irganox 1010, Irgafos 168, and dimyristyl 3,3'-thiodipropionate) from a suspension of polypropylene powder or from the powder itself. The extracted analytes were further mass-analyzed using a spiral high-resolution time-of-flight analyzer to assess their elemental composition or molecular distribution.

Keywords: DIUTHAME; additives; antioxidants; brominated flame retardants; poly(ethylene glycol); surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization; surfactant.