A comparison of electrospray tandem mass spectra of some sialic acid derivatives: Ion trap and high resolution QqToF mass spectrometers

Using O-acetyl-N-acyl derivatives of O-methyl sialoside methyl esters, it was shown that an ion trap and a hybrid analyzer (linear quadrupole–time-of-flight analyzer, reflectron) give comparable, though not identical secondary mass spectra for the M + Na]⁺ and M + K]⁺ ions. A parallel use of an ion trap and a hybrid QqToF instrument gives information about the fragmentation pathways of ions of sialic acid derivatives under collisional activation. In this case, the sequence of fragmentation may be established using an ion trap, whereas a QqToF instrument offers a possibility of revealing the elemental composition of fragment ions quickly and unequivocally.