Gold nanowires: Deposition, characterization and application to the Mass Spectrometry detection of low-molecular weight analytes

Nanowire fabrication methods are usually classified either as ‘top down’, including for example photo- or electron beam-lithography, or ‘bottom up’, involving the synthesis of nanowires from smaller precursors. Lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition (LPNE) combines the attributes of the photolithography approach with the versatility of bottom-up electrodeposition methods. In the present study, gold nanowires (Au-NWs) have been electrodeposited using LPNE. The nanomaterials have been then subjected to a spectroscopic and morphological characterization by means of X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Finally, Au-NWs have been successfully used as desorption/ionization promoters for the Laser-Induced Desorption-Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LDI-MS) detection of low-molecular weight analytes, such as amino acids and peptides.