Correlation between the Charge of Polymer Particles in Solution and in the Gas Phase Investigated by Zeta-Potential Measurements and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

The relationship between the effective charge of polymer nanoparticles (PNP) in solution and the charge states of ionized particles produced in the gas phase by electrospray ionization was investigated. Charge detection mass spectrometry was used to measure both the mass and charge of individual electrosprayed ions. The effective charges extracted from the measured zeta-potential of PNPs in solution are partially correlated with the average values of charge of PNPs in the gas phase. The correlation between the magnitude of charging of PNPs ions produced in the gas phase with the PNPs surface charge in solution demonstrates that the mass spectrometry-based analysis described in this work is an alternative and promising way for a fast and systematic characterization of charges on colloidal particles

Direct Molar Mass Determination of Self-Assembled Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Nanoobjects Using Electrospray-Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry

Charge detection mass spectrometry (CD-MS) combined with electrospray ionization was used to determine, in a direct way and for the first time, the molar mass of self-assembled amphiphilic block copolymer nanoobjects prepared via living radical emulsion polymerization. CD-MS supplies enough data for calculating statistically significant measurements of the mass of particles in the megadalton to gigadalton range and their resulting mass distribution