A Preliminary Study of the Coupling of Desorption Electrospray Ionization—Mass Spectrometry with Pressurized Planar Electrochromatography

Summary This report describes the first results from coupling of pressurized planar electrochromatography (PPEC) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry (MS). Nine analytes were separated in 2.0 min by PPEC and detected by direct analysis of the TLC plate using DESI coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer. The total analysis time was less than 10 min and sample preparation was minimal. Combination of DESI–MS with PPEC enhances the specificity and sensitivity of detection of analytes in a mixture.