Compact Tunable Mid-IR/UV Laser/Ion source for IR MALDI

OPOTEK和Emory大学的STTR二期合作研究项目的目标是继续开发一种基于光学参量振荡器（OPO）技术的小型廉价红外激光器，并开发一种专门为液体矩阵IR-MALDI设计的目标系统。该红外激光和离子源包是为高端MALDI质谱仪设计的，允许用户在红外和紫外MALDI模式之间快速切换。本文的研究分为两个部分：基于我们的一期激光系统开发红外/紫外激光器；以及IR-MALDI离子源的开发，根据从液体基质中发现的IR-MALDI的理想实验条件进行了定制。IR MALDI比UV MALDI具有优势的商业分析应用领域包括高质量DNA的分析，其他高分子量生物分子（100 - 500 kDa）的分析，凝胶印迹或直接来自细胞或组织样品的生物聚合物的分析，以及药物和其他低分子量分子（200 - 1500 Da）的分析。我们将努力优化我们的激光光源包在这些领域的性能。建议的商业应用：需要小型和廉价的红外光源用于基质辅助激光解吸电离（MALDI）质谱分析。紧凑型红外OPO的商业应用，无论是作为一个独立的改造单元，还是作为新的质谱仪的选择，包括分析高质量的DNA和蛋白质，凝胶分离蛋白质，低分子量物种，直接液体导入和冷冻组织切片。

The goal of this Phase II STTR cooperative research program between OPOTEK and Emory University is to continue development of a small and inexpensive infrared laser based on optical parametric oscillator (OPO) technology and to develop a target system specifically designed for liquid matrix IR-MALDI. This package of IR laser and ion source is designed for high-end MALDI mass spectrometers, and will allow the user to switch rapidly between IR and UV MALDI modes. The research is divided into two sections: development of the IR/UV laser based on our Phase I laser system; and development of and ion source for IR- MALDI, tailored to the experimental conditions that were found to be ideal for IR-MALDI from liquid matrices. Open areas for commercial analytical applications where IR MALDI has advantages over UV MALDI include analysis of high-mass DNA, the analysis of other high molecular weight biomolecules (100 - 500 kDa), analysis of biopolymers from gel blots or directly from cell or tissue samples, and the analysis of pharmaceuticals and other low molecular weight molecules (200 - 1500 Da). Work will be performed to try to optimize our laserlon-source package for performance in these areas. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The need for small and inexpensive IR light sources for matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is great. Commercial applications for the compact IR OPO either as a stand alone retrofit unit or as an option for new mass spectrometers include analysis of high mass DNA and proteins, gel separated proteins, low molecular weight species, direct liquid introduction and frozen tissue sections.