Silver Oxide Based Nanoparticle Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry for the Detection of Low Molecular Weight Compounds.

A specific property of silver oxide-based nanoparticles permits the ionization of an analyte, giving rise to various applications of a smart analytical methodology. The nanoparticles (d=6.7 nm) contained an Ag2O core. The detection of several model componds (a nucleobase and two hair growth promoters) via the use of silver oxide nanoparticles is described. Adducts were produced between the target molecules and the two silver stable isotopes (Ag(107) and Ag(109)), resulting in the formation of specific signals as well as a protonated signal. Thus, it was possible to easily determine whether the given signals were correlated with the target molecule or not.