Influence of carrier molecules on the intensity of biomolecule ions in plasma desorption mass spectrometry.

The intensity of insulin and melittin singly charged molecule ions is suppressed when the sample is mixed with either a lysozyme carrier or bovine serum albumin (BSA) carrier. The suppression with a BSA carrier is shown to be dependent on the carrier concentration. In contrast, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone or glutathione when mixed with insulin or melittin does not result in suppression. These results suggest sample preparation procedures to increase the sensitivity with mass spectrometry.