biostudies-literatureUrban RDDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft1561-1570https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7921053biostudies-literatureUnknown413(6)By the on-chip integration of a droplet generator in front of an emitter tip, droplets of non-polar solvents are generated in a free jet of an aqueous matrix. When an IR laser irradiates this free liquid jet consisting of water as the continuous phase and the non-polar solvent as the dispersed droplet phase, the solutes in the droplets are ionized. This ionization at atmospheric pressure enables the mass spectrometric analysis of non-polar compounds with the aid of a surrounding aqueous matrix that absorbs IR light. This works both for non-polar solvents such as n-heptane and for water non-miscible solvents like chloroform. In a proof of concept study, this approach is applied to monitor a photooxidation of N-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline. By using water as an infrared absorbing matrix, analytes, dissolved in non-polar solvents from reactions carried out on a microchip, can be desorbed and ionized for investigation by mass spectrometry.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistryOn-chip mass spectrometric analysis in non-polar solvents by liquid beam infrared matrix-assisted laser dispersion/ionization.PMC7921053ZE 717/7-1Charvat AFischer TGBelder DAbel BZeitler KWink KOhla SUrban RDKrafft BfalseOn-chip mass spectrometric analysis in non-polar solvents by liquid beam infrared matrix-assisted laser dispersion/ionization.By the on-chip integration of a droplet generator in front of an emitter tip, droplets of non-polar solvents are generated in a free jet of an aqueous matrix. When an IR laser irradiates this free liquid jet consisting of water as the continuous phase and the non-polar solvent as the dispersed droplet phase, the solutes in the droplets are ionized. This ionization at atmospheric pressure enables the mass spectrometric analysis of non-polar compounds with the aid of a surrounding aqueous matrix that absorbs IR light. This works both for non-polar solvents such as n-heptane and for water non-miscible solvents like chloroform. In a proof of concept study, this approach is applied to monitor a photooxidation of N-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline. By using water as an infrared absorbing matrix, analytes, dissolved in non-polar solvents from reactions carried out on a microchip, can be desorbed and ionized for investigation by mass spectrometry.2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Mar2025-04-20T02:27:37.052Z2025-04-20T02:27:37.052ZS-EPMC79210533347981810.1007/s00216-020-03115-4