A study of the analytical behaviour of selected synthetic and naturally occurring coumarins using liquid chromatography, ion trap mass spectrometry, gas chromatography and polarography and the construction of an appropriate database for coumarin characterisation

The aim of this paper is to provide analytical chemical information on a range of naturally occurring and synthetic coumarins. This analytical chemical information on liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS), ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI-MSⁿ), gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (GLC-FID) and polarographic behaviour is then incorporated into a database which is of use in identifying unknown coumarins isolated from natural sources. This paper is also concerned with understanding the effect of functional groups in coumarins on their analytical chemical behaviour using the above techniques.