Matrix‐assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry on a magnetic sector instrument fitted with an array detector

Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) has been carried out on a high performance double‐focusing mass spectrometer fitted with an integrating focal plane array detector. High sensitivity (low femtomole detection) was obtained with peptides such as renin substrate. Underivatized complex oligosaccharides were also detectable at the 200 fmol level. The advantages of the array detector for improved resolution (5000 full width at half maximum) and the benefits in complex oligosaccharide and glycolipid analyses relative to MALDI time‐of‐flight (TOF) systems are shown. This improved resolution enabled ambiguities from the TOF data to be interpreted.