MALDI
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Chemistry
| Stands for | Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
MALDI stands for Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization, a chemistry abbreviation.
Gentle ionization method for mass spectrometry in which a sample is mixed with a light-absorbing matrix and hit with laser pulses, lifting large molecules such as proteins and polymers into the gas phase intact. MALDI-TOF instruments identify bacteria in clinical labs within minutes.
Example: The colony was identified as Staphylococcus aureus by MALDI-TOF in under ten minutes.
Usage notes
Franz Hillenkamp and Michael Karas developed MALDI in the mid-1980s, and Koichi Tanaka independently showed that lasers could ionize proteins, sharing the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. MALDI is almost always paired with a time-of-flight (TOF) analyzer. MALDI imaging maps the distribution of molecules across thin tissue slices.
Related abbreviations
More chemistry abbreviations
- IUPAC – International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
- LC-MS – Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry
- LD50 – Lethal dose, 50%
- LDPE – Low-density polyethylene
- LUMO – Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital
- M – Molar (moles per liter)
- Me – Methyl group
- MEK – Methyl ethyl ketone
- MeOH – Methanol
- MOF – Metal-organic framework
- MS – Mass spectrometry
- MSDS – Material safety data sheet