SALDI-MS Method Development for Analysis of Pharmaceuticals and Polymer Degradation Products

Sammanfattning: Surface assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) was evaluated as a new tool for analysis of polymer degradation products. A SALDI method was developed enabling rapid analysis of low molecular mass polyesters and their degradation products. In addition, the possibility to utilize nanocomposite films as easy-to-handle surfaces for analysis of pharmaceutical compounds was investigated.Poly(ε-caprolactone) was used as a model compound for SALDI-MS method development. The signal-to-noise values obtained by SALDI-MS were 20 times higher compared to traditional matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) of the same samples with 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as a matrix. Halloysite nanoclay and magnesium oxide showed best potential as surfaces and clean backgrounds in the low mass range were observed. The SALDI-MS method for the analysis of polyester degradation products was also verified by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). An advantage over ESI-MS is the possibility to directly analyze degradation products in buffer solutions. Compared to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) it is possible to analyze polar compounds and larger molecular mass ranges at the same time as  complicated extraction steps are avoided.The possibility to use nanocomposite films as surfaces instead of free nanoparticles was evaluated by solution casting of poly(lactide) (PLA) films with eight inorganic nanoparticles. The S/N values of the pharmaceutical compounds, acebutolol, propranolol and carbamazepine, analyzed on the nanocomposite surfaces were higher than the values obtained on the surface of plain PLA showing that the nanoparticles participated in the ionization/desorption process even when they are immobilized. Beside the ease of handling, the risk for instrument contamination is reduced when nanocomposites are used instead of free nanoparticles. The signal intensities depended on the type of drug, type and concentration of nanoparticle. PLA with 10 % titanium oxide or 10 % silicon nitride functioned best as SALDI-MS surfaces.