An ICP study and an ICR/MALDI study at high mass resolution of two ancient Maya greenstone artifacts from Pacbitun, Belize, and two decorative jade specimens.

An ICP study and an ICR/MALDI study at high mass resolution of two ancient Maya greenstone artifacts from Pacbitun, Belize, and two decorative jade specimens. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2019 Nov 02;: Authors: March RE Abstract Two Early Classic period (ca 250-600 CE) Maya carved, greenstone jade pendants, Specimens A and B, were recovered from the Pacbitun site in Belize in 1987. Novel highly-resolved polyatomic ions from jade grit have been observed using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS), specifically using the Bruker Daltonics, SolariX XR mass spectrometer, combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI); the matrix material was α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid. Mass scans of resolution ~600,000 were obtained for the jade pendants and two British Columbia jade ornaments. Observation of polyatomic ion species of m/z 800-1400 indicate the ejection of charged ensembles composed of 60 - 180 atoms from jade grit. The charged ensembles represent minute regions of jade grit that have retained many of the spatial relationships of atoms within the jade; the required ejection energy is provided by laser photons accumulated in the matrix. Acid solutions of grit from Specimens A and ornament KMM were analyzed by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The novelty of this application of mass spectrometry to jade was reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Presente...
Source: Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom Source Type: research