sol-gel-assisted laser desorption-ionisation mass spectrometry sol–gel-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry CHMO:0000868 SGALDI TOF MS Mass spectrometry where the sample (usually a large organic molecule or biomolecule) is vaporised and ionised using a high-energy pulsed laser. The sample is held in a sol–gel matrix to protect it from direct laser illumination and to separate the sample molecules. The sample molecular ions are accelerated to the same (known) kinetic energy and the time taken for each ion to reach a detector at a known distance is measured. This time is dependent on the mass-to-charge ratio of the ion. SGALDI-TOF/MS SGALDI-TOF-MS sol-gel-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry sol-gel-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight mass spectroscopy