Charge state of lysozyme molecules in the gas phase produced by IR-laser ablation of droplet beam.

Molecules exhibit their intrinsic properties in their isolated forms. Investigations of isolated large biomolecules require an understanding of the detailed mechanisms for their emergence in the gas phase because these properties may depend on the isolation process. In this study, we apply droplet-beam laser-ablation mass spectrometry to isolate protein molecules in the gas phase by IR-laser ablation of aqueous protein solutions, and we discuss the isolation mechanism.