EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -MALDI-TOF MS is an analytical technique in which particles are ionized, separated according to their mass-to-charge ratio, and measured by determining the time it takes for the ions to travel to a detector at the end of a time-of-flight tube.

Detailed explanation-2: -To put the basic MALDI-TOF separation principle into simple words: The larger its m/z, the slower an ion will fly, the longer the measured flight time will be. This defines the potential energy at which all ions start from the MALDI target.

Detailed explanation-3: -The principle of MALDI After a very brief laser pulse, the irradiated spot is rapidly heated and becomes vibrationally excited. The matrix molecules energetically ablated from the surface of the sample, absorb the laser energy and carry the analyte molecules into the gas phase as well.

Detailed explanation-4: -One of the main uses of MALDI-TOF-MS is in the identification of proteins, by peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF). Here we describe a simple protocol that can be performed in a standard biochemistry laboratory, whereby proteins separated by 1D or 2D gel electrophoresis can be identified at femtomole levels.

Detailed explanation-5: -Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) has become a widely used technique for the rapid and accurate identification of bacteria, mycobacteria and certain fungal pathogens in the clinical microbiology laboratory.