Abstract
A fully automated liquid extraction-based surface sampling device utilizing an Advion NanoMate chip-based infusion nanoelectrospray ionization system is reported. Analyses were enabled for discrete spot sampling by using the Advanced User Interface of the current commercial control software. This software interface provided the parameter control necessary for the NanoMate robotic pipettor to both form and withdraw a liquid microjunction for sampling from a surface. The system was tested with three types of analytically important sample surface types, viz., spotted sample arrays on a MALDI plate, dried blood spots on paper, and whole-body thin tissue sections from drug dosed mice. The qualitative and quantitative data were consistent with previous studies employing other liquid extraction-based surface sampling techniques. The successful analyses performed here utilized the hardware and software elements already present in the NanoMate system developed to handle and analyze liquid samples. Implementation of an appropriate sample (surface) holder, a solvent reservoir, faster movement of the robotic arm, finer control over solvent flow rate when dispensing and retrieving the solution at the surface, and the ability to select any location on a surface to sample from would improve the analytical performance and utility of the platform.
