Surface
siloxane (3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane hydrolyzates)-modified silica
materials were used as “initiators”, which resulted
in the release and desorption of intact molecules adsorbed on the
surface of a matrix. A covalently cross-linked MIL-53(Al) material
was used to enhance the ionization of analytes. Herein, we have provided
an efficient matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry
(MALDI-TOF MS) matrix strategy, which responded to both ion and laser
irradiation with low background interference in the low-molecular-weight
(MW) region. The matrixes MIL-53(Al), SBA-15@APTES, SiO2@APTES, SBA-15@APTES@MOF, and SiO2@APTES@MOF were
synthetized and used for the analysis of a series of low-MW compounds
to verify the effectiveness of the strategies. Compared to conventional
matrixes, the surface-modified SBA-15@APTES@MOF and SiO2@APTES@MOF had low background, high sensitivity, extensive applicability,
good stability, and ultrahigh tolerance of salt concentrations. The
detection limits of standard analytes were determined to range from
0.1 to 1 × 10–5 mg/mL for 16 amino acids as
well as citric acid, reserpine, tetraethylammonium chloride, melamine,
bisphenol A, and malachite green. These results could help in designing
more efficient nanostructure-initiator materials and further promote
the application of MALDI-TOF MS.