TY - JOUR A1 - Stindt, Arne A1 - Buurman, Merwe A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Riedel, Jens T1 - CO2 laser ionization of acoustically levitated droplets T2 - Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry N2 - For many analytical purposes, direct laser ionization of liquids is desirable. Several studies on supported droplets, free liquid jets, and ballistically dispensed microdroplets have been conducted, yet detailed knowledge of the underlying mechanistics in ion formation is still missing. This contribution introduces a simple combination of IR-MALDI mass spectrometry and an acoustical levitation device for contactless confinement of the liquid sample. The homebuilt ultrasonic levitator supports droplets of several millimeters in diameter. These droplets are vaporized by a carbon dioxide laser in the vicinity of the atmospheric pressure interface of a time of flight mass spectrometer. The evaporation process is studied by high repetition rate shadowgraphy experiments elucidating the ballistic evaporation of the sample and revealing strong confinement of the vapor by the ultrasonic field of the trap. Finally, typical mass spectra for pure glycerol/water matrix and lysine as an analyte are presented with and without the addition of trifluoracetic acid, and the ionization mechanism is briefly discussed. The technique is a promising candidate for a reproducible mass spectrometric detection scheme for the field of microfluidics. PB - Springer CY - Berlin KW - Ambient mass spectrometry KW - Levitated droplets KW - IR-MALDI PY - 2012 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/27429 AN - OPUS4-27429 UR - http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00216-012-6500-y SN - 1618-2642 SN - 1618-2650 N1 - Geburtsname von Buurman, Merwe: Albrecht, M. - Birth name of Buurman, Merwe: Albrecht, M. SP - 1 EP - 6(?) AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany