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In this note, we report that high quality ganglioside profiles with minimal loss of sialic acid residues can be obtained in the positive ion mode by using a 5-methoxysalicylic acid (MSA) matrix for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS). Our results showed that MSA produced much less sialic acid losses from gangliosides than DHB, although MSA and DHB are differ only by their functional groups at their 5-positions (-OH for DHB and -OCH for MSA). Furthermore, our data also demonstrated that addition of an alkali metal additive was effective for simplifying ganglioside profiles, but not necessary for stabilizing glycosidic bonds of gangliosides if MSA was used as a matrix. This suggests that MALDI MS with MSA has a potential to gain additional benefits from the positive-ion mode analyses without losing performance in ganglioside profiling. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]