Evidence for a surface self-cleaning sputtering mechanism in fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry

Evidence for a surface self-cleaning sputtering mechanism in fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry involving significant sputtering from the bulk of the glycerol matrix has been obtained from (a) the time dependence of sample ion abundances and chemical noise for bioorganic compounds, (b) determinations of the sputtering volume in glycerol solution, and (c) studies of in situ chemical and biochemical reactions. The relevance of these results for optimal sample/matrix preparation in analytical applications is pointed out.