Letter: Ready detection of b-carotene from large aggregates of cyclodextrin complexes in water solution by laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry with and without matrix assistance

Eur. J. Mass Spectrom. 5, 7–10 (1999)
DOI: 10.1255/ejms.243

Letter: Ready detection of b-carotene from large aggregates of cyclodextrin complexes in water solution by laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry with and without matrix assistance

Andrea Mele,^* Walter Panzeri and Antonio Selva^*
CNR-Centro di Studio sulle Sostanze Organiche Naturali, Dipartimento di Chimica del Politecnico, Via Mancinelli, 7, I-20131 Milano, Italy.
Emanuele Canu
Shimadzu Italia, Milano, Italy.

ABSTRACT:

b-Carotene forms large aggregates (micelles) with b– and g-cyclodextrin in water. The components of such aggregates can be easily and quickly analyzed by using laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOF-MS). The use of a suitable matrix (2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, DHB) allows one to detect both carotene and cyclodextrins, whereas LDI-MS without matrix can be exploited for the selective detection of carotene. On this basis, an analytical strategy can be developed for the assessment of the composition of water soluble carotene/cyclodextrin systems and the investigation on the repartition of the components in the presence of organic solvents.

Keywords: b-carotene; cyclodextrins, non-covalent complexes, MALDI, time-of-flight.

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