TY - JOUR A1 - Gabriel, Stefan A1 - Schwarzinger, C. A1 - Schwarzinger, B. A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Matrix segregation as the major cause for sample inhomogeneity in MALDI dried droplet spots N2 - The segregation in dried droplet MALDI sample spots was analyzed with regard to the matrix-to-sample ratio using optical microscopy, MALDI imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI MSI) and IR imaging spectroscopy. In this context, different polymer/matrix/solvent systems usually applied in the analysis of synthetic polymers were investigated. The use of typical matrix concentrations (10 mg mL-1) in almost every case resulted in ring patterns, whereas higher concentrated matrix solutions always led to homogeneous sample spot layers. The data revealed that segregation is predominantly caused by matrix transport in the drying droplet, whereas polymer segregation seems to be only secondary. KW - MALDI KW - Imaging MS KW - Matrix segregation KW - Dried droplet KW - Sample preparation KW - Polymers PY - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13361-014-0913-0 SN - 1044-0305 VL - 25 IS - 8 SP - 1356 EP - 1363 PB - American Society for Mass Spectrometry CY - New York, NY AN - OPUS4-32582 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -