High ion yields of carbohydrates from frozen solution by UV-MALDI.

An aqueous acetonitrile solution containing oligosaccharides (maltopentaose and polysaccharides) and a matrix (2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid) was frozen at 100 K for mass analysis using ultraviolet matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (UV-MALDI). Compared with conventional UV-MALDI (i.e.