김재웅 (한림대학교)

박종민 (한림대학교)

김재웅 (한림대학교)

유영근 (한림대학교)

김강현 (한림대학교)

이혜빈 (한림대학교)

박종민 (한림대학교)

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry  (MALDI-TOF MS) has been widely used to detect various biomolecules, such as proteins, DNA, and lipids, with the advantages of easy preparation and fast and sensitive analysis. However, fragmentation of organic matrices generates high background noise in the low-mass region (m/z < 500), limiting the accurate detection of small molecules such as amino acids and lipids.

To address this issue, surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SALDI-TOF MS) using inorganic materials such as carbon nanomaterials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), SiO₂, and TiO₂ has been proposed as an alternative. Among these, TiO₂ facilitates analyte desorption and ionization based on its photocatalytic properties, and various nanostructures such as nanosheets, nanotubes, and nanowires have been developed to improve performance.

In this work, TiO₂ nanowire particles (TiO₂ NWP) were synthesized via a KOH-based hydrothermal method using titanium powder as a precursor. Synthesized TiO₂​ NWPs were characterized by XRD, SEM, and TEM. The performance as the solid matrix was evaluated by methylene blue decomposition assay, survival yield analysis. Finally, small biomolecules were sensitively analyzed by adjusting the optimal amount of TiO₂ NWP.

Our results suggest that TiO₂ NWP is a promising SALDI-TOF MS matrix for the accurate analysis of low-molecular-weight analytes.