What makes MALDI-TOF MS very attractive for many analytical applications?
easy to use

• extremely small amount of sample (picomole-to-femtomole sensitivity)
• accurate mass analysis
• simultaneous detection of analytes without preceding separation
• applicable for fragile biomolecules (proteins)
• manly single charge ions
• theoratically unlimited mass range (m/z = 100 - 300.000)
• analysis of mixtures and different classes of biopolymers, including peptides, oligonucleotides, glycoconjugates, and synthetic polymers
• relative tolerance to contaminants in the sample