Process / pipelineSoft Ionization Mass Spectrometry

MALDI-TOF

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) combined with Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass analysis, or MALDI-TOF, is a soft ionization mass spectrometry technique that gently ionizes intact biomolecules and volatile organic compounds, then measures their mass-to-charge ratio by measuring flight time through a field-free drift region. Introduced independently by Karas, Hillenkamp, and Tanaka in 1988, MALDI-TOF revolutionized proteomics, microbiology, and organic analysis by enabling mass determination of proteins and polymers exceeding 100 kDa.

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Sources

  1. Karas, M., & Hillenkamp, F. (1988). Laser desorption ionization of proteins with molecular masses exceeding 10,000 daltons. Analytical Chemistry, 60(20), 2299-2301. DOI: 10.1021/ac00171a028
  2. Tanaka, K., Waki, H., Ido, Y., Akita, S., Yoshida, Y., & Yoshida, T. (1988). Protein and polymer analyses up to m/z 100,000 by laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2(8), 151-153. DOI: 10.1002/rcm.1290020802
  3. Fenn, J. B., Mann, M., Meng, C. K., Wong, S. F., & Whitehouse, C. M. (1989). Electrospray ionization for mass spectrometry of large biomolecules. Science, 246(4926), 64-71. DOI: 10.1126/science.2675315

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Referenced by

ScholarGateMALDI-TOF (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/spectroscopy/maldi-tof