Surface-modified wooden-tip electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for enhanced detection of analytes in complex samples

Abstract

Replacement of capillary with solid substrates for sample loading and ionization has created many new possibilities for electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Surface modification is an attractive strategy to enhance the analytical capability of solid-substrate ESI-MS and allow understanding the relationship between surface activity of solid substrates and analytical properties. In this study, we performed surface modification of wooden tips with hydrophobic (C18), basic (NH2), and acidic (SO3H) functional groups and applied various sampling methods, i.e., extractive sampling and direct loading, to comprehensively investigate the analytical properties of solid-substrate ESI-MS. Our results showed that, for the direct loading method, analytes with weak interactions with solid-substrate surface could be readily sprayed out for detection. While for the extractive sampling method, analytes strongly retained on solid-substrate surface could be selectively enriched and detected, and a washing step after sample loading could effectively remove unbound components for reducing interference. Overall, the insights on the effects of surface-analyte interactions on the analytical features obtained in this study could aid the development of surface-modified strategies for enhancing the analytical capability of solid-substrate ESI-MS.