MALDI Mass Spectrometry for Synthetic Polymer Analysis: 175

“The primary audience will be beginning graduate students (or advanced undergraduates) who are starting research on MALDI of polymers. It will also be of great value for industrial chemists who work in polymer MALDI. I would also recommend it to polymer chemists who want to understand how MALDI can help them in their work.” (Anal Bioanal Chem, 2010)

“Overall, I highly recommend this book for any polymer scientist with access to MALDI-MS as it will aid in the better planning of experiments and interpretation of the results. This is definitely a book for beginning graduate students in the field and for MS facility managers who are constantly exposed to a wide variety of samples, with synthetic polymers being among them.” (JACS, 2010)

Tested and proven practices from the experts for

successful polymer characterization and analysis

Written by a team of leading mass spectrometry experts, this book enables readers to avoid the many pitfalls that often occur during the MALDI MS analysis of synthetic polymers by guiding them through each step of the procedure. It carefully explains the principles of polymer mass spectrometry and sets forth the best practices in using MALDI MS, emphasizing the specific skills and techniques required for polymer analysis and characterization. With the book’s careful guidance, readers gain new skills in:

• Selecting the optimal method to characterize a particular sample

• Preparing and handling samples

• Analyzing data and interpreting the results

Following an overview of MS and MALDI Mass Spectrometry for Synthetic Polymer Analysis, each chapter is dedicated to a specific technique or method, including:

• Time-of-flight MS for polymer characterization

• Tandem MS and polymer ion dissociation

• New approaches to data reduction in MS

• MALDI MS applications for industrial polymers

The authors of each chapter describe the underlying principles of the technique or method, its attributes in polymer characterization, shortcomings, and efforts for further development and improvement. Examples of applications and experiments are provided alongside tips to help readers perform seamless analyses.

Because of the great diversity in polymer chemistry, there is no universal approach for MALDI MS analysis of polymers. With this book, readers can choose and apply the right analytical protocol to characterize and analyze any polymer sample.