Research & publications
Our research is focused mass spectrometry and allied topics. We are primarily users of mass spectrometry, but develop new methods and instruments and investigate the physico-chemical fundamentals of mass spectrometry.
AK Spengler conducts research in two major subject areas. A major topic is imaging mass spectrometry. Here, on the one hand, new and further instrumental developments are carried out and, on the other hand, application protocols for bioanalytical questions are developed on existing instruments. The second major subject area is on-site analysis. Here, miniaturized and transportable instruments and methods for the analysis of environmental samples and consumer goods are developed.
The first results on the use of MALDI ionization technology as an imaging method were presented by Bernhard Spengler in 1994 as part of the annual conference of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS). The spatial resolution for the detection of metals and peptides, among other things, was around 1 µm.