Linker-free covalent immobilization of nisin using atmospheric pressure plasma induced grafting.

The linker-free covalent immobilization of polymers on surfaces has the potential to impart new properties and functions to surfaces for a wide range of applications. However, most current methods for the production of these surfaces involve multiple chemical steps and do not have a high degree of control over the chemical functionalities at the surface. A comprehensive study detailing the facile two-step covalent grafting of the antimicrobial peptide nisin onto polystyrene surfaces is reported.

Characterisation of a micro-plasma for ambient mass spectrometry imaging.

Results are presented on the characterisation and optimisation of a non-thermal atmospheric pressure micro-plasma ion source used for ambient mass spectrometry imaging. The geometry of the experiment is optimised to produce the most intense and stable ion signals. Signal stabilities (relative standard deviation) of 2.

Comparison of three plasma sources for ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

Plasma-based desorption/ionization sources are an important ionization technique for ambient surface analysis mass spectrometry. In this paper, we compare and contrast three competing plasma based desorption/ionization sources: a radio-frequency (rf) plasma needle, a dielectric barrier plasma jet, and a low-temperature plasma probe. The ambient composition of the three sources and their effectiveness at analyzing a range of pharmaceuticals and polymers were assessed.