Laser desorption mass spectrometry: Technical limitations, fundamentals, and application to coal

Objective of this study is to assess scope and limitations of laser desorption (LD) and matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI) as applied to coals. LD and MALDI mass spectrometry are increasingly used to detect intact molecular species, such as proteins with masses from 1000 to 100,000 amu and beyond. MALDI is also being used for high molecular weight polymers. A good example, related to coal-type systems, is the report on lignin mass spectrometry by MALDI. The mass spectrum shows a wide molecular distribution of several hundred to larger than 16000, with the center of gravity of the distribution around 2600. Results are interpreted in terms of oligomeric lignin molecules. Thus, if there are indeed large molecular species in a polymeric content in coals or coal extracts, MALDI is an attractive technique