Published January 1, 2002 | public
Journal Article

Improvement in the Apparent Mass Resolution of Oligonucleotides by Using ^(12)C/^(14)N-Enriched Samples

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Abstract

The apparent mass resolution of oligonucleotides in time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers has been examined. In a reflectron TOF instrument, where the isotopic profile can be completely resolved, the apparent resolution matches the instrument's resolving power. In a linear TOF instrument, unresolved isotopic profiles limit the apparent resolution to much lower values than the actual instrument resolution. By using ^(12)C/^(14)N-enriched oligonucleotides, the apparent resolution can be improved significantly. The isotope enrichment method also enhances the signal-to-noise ratio.

Additional Information

© 2002 American Chemical Society. Received 17 July 2001; accepted 25 October 2001; published online 1 December 2001; published in print 1 January 2002. We thank Dr. Norman Chiu, Dr. Dirk van den Boom, and Professor Franz Hillenkamp for discussions; Dr. Ralf Wörl and Dr. Michael Willis for advice on RNA purification for MALDI; and Prof. Catherine Fenselau for encouragement of this work. This work was supported in part by a grant from the NIH (GM-53320 to J.R.W.).

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 20, 2023