Nanoscale atmospheric pressure laser ablation-mass spectrometry.

We describe an atmospheric pressure nanosampling interface for mass spectrometry based on near-field laser ablation. Pulsed laser radiation is delivered to the sample surface through a near-field optical probe, and the ablation plume is sampled through a capillary orifice and analyzed by standard MS methods. A spatial resolution of less than 200 nm and a sensitivity below 2 amol is demonstrated.