matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is an ionization  technique that uses a laser energy absorbing matrix to create ions  from large molecules  with minimal fragmentation. It has been applied to the analysis of biomolecules  (biopolymer such as DNA, proteins, peptides and sugars) and large organic  molecules (such as polymers, dendrimers and other macromolecules), which tend to be fragile and fragment when ionized by more conventional ionization methods..