MALDI

The facility is equipped with a Bruker Autoflex (TOF) mass spectrometer for performing matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI). The TOF has been outfitted with delayed extraction optics, high mass detector and has a reflector which greatly improves mass resolution. This instrument is particularly useful for molecules above 900 u in molecular weight, and the variety compounds which are amenable to MALDI range from synthetic polymers to peptides to viruses (please, no viruses infectious to humans!). This instrument has been extensively used to look at peptide fingerprints (trypsin digests of proteins).