Measurement plate for MALDI mass spectrometry

摘要

A measurement plate 10 for MALDI mass spectrometry consists of a base plate 11 having an upper surface and a carbon sheet 12 laid on at least a portion of the upper surface. The carbon sheet 12 is a highly-oriented graphite sheet with the orientation direction being parallel to the upper surface. The highly-oriented graphite sheet has a high thermal conductivity in the in-plane direction and a low thermal conductivity in the perpendicular direction. Therefore, the thermal energy generated in a matrix substance by laser irradiation is quickly transferred through the highly-oriented graphite sheet in the in-plane direction. As a result, the thermal energy is uniformly distributed within the laser-irradiated area, so that the reaction of sublimation and ionization of the target sample assisted by the matrix substance uniformly takes place. Thus, a decrease in the detection sensitivity is prevented. Optionally, a high electrical conductivity plate is inserted in the electrically conductive adhesive layer fixing the base plate and the graphite sheet.