Advancing Liquid Atmospheric Pressure (LAP) MALDI Mass Spectrometry

MALDI mass spectrometry has been a cornerstone of modern biological mass spectrometry, enabling the soft ionization, analysis and characterisation of large biomolecules such as proteins. It has been a game changer in areas such as clinical microbiology and imaging as well as in the analysis of synthetic polymers and other macromolecules. This project will take the conventional solid (crystalline) MALDI methodology to the next level by further developing and advancing its liquid counterpart. As shown in our previous work, liquid MALDI as applied to modern atmospheric pressure mass spectrometers can advance MALDI analysis by adding greater ion signal stability, faster sample-to-sample analysis times and ESI-like ion formation, leading to mutliply charged analyte ions. These advantages will be further investigated and applied to a range of applications and analyte molecules. Possible application areas are clinical and veterinary diagnostics, environmental analysis, forensics, pharmaceutical analysis, and industrial polymer analysis. Applicants can express interest by providing a CV or they can submit a formal application through the university systems using the following link: http://www.reading.ac.uk/pgapply - any questions on the application process should be directed to chem-pgadmin@reading.ac.uk.