TY - JOUR A1 - van Wasen, S. A1 - You, Yi A1 - Beck, S. A1 - Riedel, Jens A1 - Volmer, D. T1 - Quantitative Analysis of Pharmaceutical Drugs Using a Combination of Acoustic Levitation and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry JF - Analytical Chemistry N2 - A combination of acoustic levitation, laser vaporization, and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) is presented in this study that enabled sensitive analysis of pharmaceutical drugs from an aqueous sample matrix. An unfocused pulsed infrared laser provided contactless sample desorption from the droplets trapped inside an acoustic levitator by activation of the OH stretching band of aqueous and alcoholic solvents. Subsequent atmospheric pressure chemical ionization was used between the levitated droplet and the mass spectrometer for postionization. In this setup, the unfocused laser gently desorbed the analytes by applying very mild repulsive forces. Detailed plume formation studies by temporally resolved schlieren experiments were used to characterize the liquid gas transition in this process. In addition, the role of different additives and solvent composition was examined during the ionization process. The analytical application of the technique and the proof-of-concept for quantitative analysis were demonstrated by the determination of selected pharmaceutical drugs in aqueous matrix with limits of quantification at the lower nanomolar level and a linear dynamic range of 3–4 orders of magnitude. KW - Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization KW - Ultrasonic Levitation KW - Mass Spectrometry KW - Laser Desorption PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00762 VL - 93 IS - 15 SP - 6019 EP - 6024 PB - ACS AN - OPUS4-52470 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -