ELECTRODEPOSITED POLYTHIOPHENE FILMS PROVIDE REPRODUCIBLE SAMPLES FORLASER-DESORPTION ION-TRAP MASS-SPECTROMETRY STUDIES

Electrodeposited polythiophene films can provide consistent laser deso rption signal levels for over 20,000 laser shots on one position of a probe tip in an ion trap. A similar lack of signal decay was observed for multiple positions on the same film. The consistency and longevity of the ion signal resulting from laser desorption of a polythiophene film are much greater than those typically obtained from simple soluti on residue samples. Uniform, electrodeposited polythiophene films can provide a great reduction in the uncertainty of ion production that ha s previously been associated with ion trapping studies utilizing laser desorption. (C) 1997 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.