Northern Illinois University
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry for the non‐chromatographic analysis of biopolymers (e.g, proteins, peptides and carbohydrates) and large organic molecules (e.g, polymers, dendrimers). Analytes are embedded in a matrix which absorbs energy at the wavelength of the laser to facilitate vaporization and ionization.

The AB Voyager–DE BioSpectrometry Workstation is a matrix‐assisted laser desorption time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer (MALDI–TOF MS) with a mass range of 500 to approximately 300,000 Da. It is equipped with a pulsed ultraviolet nitrogen laser (337nm, 3 ns pulse, 20 Hz maximum firing rate), a time‐of‐flight mass analyzer with a 1.2 m linear flight path. The instrument can be operated in delayed extraction mode.

Data acquisition and processing is controlled by the Voyager Control Panel and spectra can be analyzed using DataExplorer.

• Voyager Getting Started Guide (PDF)
• Voyager User's Guide (PDF)
• Data Explorer User's Guide (PDF)
• Principles of MALDI at Iowa State University
• MALDI Matrices by Sigma–Aldrich (PDF)
• MALDI Matrices by Pierce (PDF)

To access the MALDI, users must set up an account. Please contact Taesam Kim for more information.

Figure 1. MALDI spectrum of a BSA digest after cleaning with C18 Ziptip