Electrodeposited polythiophene films provide reproducible samples for laser desorption ion trap mass spectrometry studies

Electrodeposited polythiophene films can provide consistent laser desorption 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 solution residue samples. Uniform, electrodeposited polythiophene films can provide a great reduction in the uncertainty of ion production that has previously been associated with ion trapping studies utilizing laser desorption. (C) 1997 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.