A Green Chemistry Analysis of Metal Complexes by MALDI-TOF

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) is a type of ionization that is commonly used for the analysis of high molecular weight biological compounds, but has also been used for metal complex analysis. By combining the work presented in previously published literature on low molecular weight techniques and metal complexes, an analysis of different methods was evaluated. Spectra of transition metals chelated by three different ligands using different chelating atoms were acquired. To analyze the complexes, four different matrices were used with three different plating methods. In the evaluation of the different methods, the amount of solvent used was recorded and compared to a similar ionization technique, electrospray ionization (ESI). The experiment demonstrated that MALDI had the capability to ionize more complexes while using less solvent than ESI.