Abstract Four esters of succinic and maleic acid were synthesized, separated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization- mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). A comparison of matrix materials showed that 2, 6- dihydroxybenzoic acid (2, 6-DHB) yielded a greater ionization efficiency than 2, 5-DHB prior to TLC separation. The location of each ester sample on the TLC plate was estimated by ...
