NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
The Effect of Salts on Electrospray Ionization of Amino Acids in the Negative ModeThe continued search for organics on Mars will require the development of simplified procedures for handling and processing of soil or rock core samples prior to analysis by onboard instrumentation. Extraction of certain organic molecules such as amino acids from rock and soil samples using a liquid solvent (H2O) has been shown to be more efficient (by approximately an order of magnitude) than heat extraction methods. As such, liquid extraction (using H2O) of amino acid molecules from rock cores or regolith material is a prime candidate for the required processing. In this scenario, electrospray ionization (ESI) of the liquid extract would be a natural choice for ionization of the analyte prior to interrogation by one of a variety of potential analytical separation techniques (mass spectroscopy, ion mobility spectroscopy, etc.). Aside from the obvious compatibility of ESI and liquid samples, ESI offers simplicity and a soft ionization capability. In order to demonstrate that liquid extraction and ESI can work as part of an in situ instrument on Mars, we must better understand and quantify the effect salts have on the ESI process. In the current work, we have endeavored to investigate the feasibility and limitations of negative mode ESI of Martian surface samples in the context of sample salt content using ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS).
Document ID
20040065788
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Kim, H. I.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Johnson, P. V.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Beegle, L. W.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Kanik, I.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Astrobiology
Subject Category
Exobiology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Document Inquiry

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available