CeMOS Mannheim Connects High‐Impact Science, Co‐development, and Transfer through Collaborations.

This invited Team Profile was created by the Applied Mass Spectrometry Team at the Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS Mannheim) in Germany. They recently published an article together with Sirius Fine Chemicals SiChem GmbH and Bruker Daltonics. The work presents a novel concept for vacuum‐stable‐by‐design MALDI matrices that enable long MALDI mass spectrometry measurements (e.g., for imaging) of at least 72 hours. Through the use of a photo‐removable group, organic synthesis transformed the widely used, but unfortunately very volatile MALDI matrix 2,5‐dihydroxyacetophenone (2,5‐DHAP) into a vacuum‐stable one. The protecting group can be uncaged by the MALDI laser in the ion source and then the matrix performs in the same way as the common matrix 2,5‐DHAP. "A Caged In‐Source Laser‐Cleavable MALDI Matrix with High Vacuum Stability for Extended MALDI‐MS Imaging", Q. Zhou, S. Rizzo, J. Oetjen, A. Fülöp, M. Rittner, H. Gillandt, C. Hopf, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202217047. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]