Fragmentation study of protonated chalcones by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and tandem mass spectrometry

Fragmentation mechanisms of protonated chalcone and its derivatives with different functional groups were investigated by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The major fragmentation pathways were loss of the phenyl group from the A or B ring, combined with loss of CO. Losses of H(2)O and CO from the precursor ions of [M+H](+) are proposed to occur via rearrangements. Elimination of water from protonated chalcones was observed in all the title compounds to yield a stable ion but it was difficult to obtain skeletal fragmentation of a precursor ion. Loss of CO was found in the MS/MS spectra of all the compounds except the nitro-substituted chalcones. When the [M+H--CO](+) ion was fragmented in the MS/MS experiments, there were distinctive losses of 15 and 28 Da, as the methyl radical and ethylene, respectively. The ion at m/z 130, found only in the nitro-substituted chalcones, was assigned as C(9)H(6)O by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR)-MS/MS; m/z 130 is a common fragment ion in the electron ionization (EI) spectra of chalcones. In order to more easily distinguish the constitutional isomers of these chalcones, breakdown curves were produced and these provided strong support in this study.     

Characterization of fifty-one flavonoids in a Chinese herbal prescription Longdan Xiegan Decoction by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and photodiode array detection

High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry and photodiode array detection (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n)) was developed to identify and characterize the flavonoids in a Chinese formulated preparation, Longdan Xiegan Decoction (LXD). In total, fifty-one flavonoids (27 flavones, 10 flavanones, 7 chalcones, 5 flavonols and 2 isoflavones) were characterized. Eighteen compounds among them including a newly detected flavonoid, naringin, from the ingredient herbs, were unambiguously determined by comparing the retention times (t(R)), UV spectral data and mass fragmentation behaviors with those of the reference compounds. Another thirty-three compounds were tentatively identified by referencing to the reported data of their UV and MS spectra. The ESI-MS/MS fragmentation behavior of flavones (OMe-substituted, O-glycosides, C-glycosides), chalcones, flavonols and their appropriate characteristic pathways were proposed. In negative ion ESI-MS all the flavonoids yielded prominent [M--H](-) ions in the first order mass spectra. Fragmentation with a loss of mass of 15 Da (CH(3)), 18 Da (H(2)O), 28 Da (CO), 44 Da (CO(2)), 56 Da (2CO) and the residues of glucose and glucuronic acid observed in the MS/MS spectra were useful for aiding the structural identification of the flavonoids investigated.     

Analysis of minor flavonoids in Piper hostmannianum var. berbicense using liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

The fragmentations of hydroxylated flavanones, chalcones and dihydrochalcones were investigated by direct loop injection using an ion trap mass spectrometry equipped with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) probe. Some of them have been isolated from the leaves of Piper hostmannianum var. berbicense and standards were used to confirm their fragmentation behaviour. In negative ion mode, fragmentations of these three types of flavonoids revealed specific diagnostic ions which allowed us to identify aglycones in a crude plant extract. The major fragment ion obtained in MS/MS experiment for methoxylated chalcones is the neutral loss of a methyl radical whereas a H(2)O molecule is lost in the case of methoxylated dihydrochalcones. Methoxylated chalcones and flavanones isomers could be differentiated by the relative intensity ratio of [M-H-CH(3)]*(-) and [M-H-C(2)H(2)O](-) ions. Based on UV and MS data, a decision tree that includes UV lambda(max) absorptions and MS/MS diagnostic ions was built in order to obtain structural information of unknown compounds present in the extract. This tree was used to identify flavonoids in the ethyl acetate extract of P. hostmannianum var. berbicense leaves after analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ion trap multistage mass spectrometry. A total of 11 flavonoids were tentatively characterized based on the MS fragmentations pattern observed in MS(n) experiments.     

Study of Host-Guest Complexation of Alkaline Earth Metal Ion,Aluminum Ion and Transition Metal Ions with Crown Ethers by Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometry

Complexations of crown ethers with alkali metal ions have been investigated extensively by FAB mass spectrometry over the past decade, but very little attention has been paid to reactions of crown ethers with other classes of metal ions such as alkaline earth metal ions, transition metal ions and aluminum ions. Although fast atom bombardment ionization mass spectrometry has proven to be a rapid and convenient method to determine the binding interactions of crown ethers with metal ions, problems in reliabilities for quantitative measurements of” binding strength for the host-guest complexes have been described in the literature. Thus, in this paper, applications of FAB/MS for investigating the complexation of crown ethers with various classes of metal ions is discussed. Extensive fragmentations for neutral losses such as C₂H₄O or C₂H₄ molecules from the host-guest complexes could be observed. The reason is attributed to the energetic bombardment processes of FAB occuring in the formation of these complexes. Complexes of cyclen with metal ions also show neutral losses of C₂H₄NH molecules leading to fragment ions. Transition metal ions usually form (Crown + MCl)⁺ type of ions, alkaline earth metal ions can form both (Crown + MCl)⁺ and (Crown + MOH)⁺ type of ions. But for aluminum ions, only (Crown + Al(OH)₂)⁺ type of ions could he observed.     

Atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry of purine and pyrimidine markers of inherited metabolic disorders

Purines and pyrimidines are of interest owing to their significance in processes in living organisms. Mass spectrometry is a promising analytical tool utilized in their analysis. Two atmospheric pressure ionization (API) methods (electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)) in both negative and positive modes applied to selected purine and pyrimidine metabolites (markers of inherited metabolic disorders) were studied. APCI is less sensitive to alkali metal cations present in a sample and offers higher response than ESI for studied compounds. Both of the techniques afford quasi-molecular ions, but fragmentation also occurs to a certain extent. However, the application of collision-induced dissociation of quasi-molecular ions is essential to confirm a certain metabolite in a sample. Fragmentation of both positive and negative ions was evaluated using multi-stage mass spectrometric experiments. Typical neutral losses correspond to molecules NH(3), H(2)O, HCN, CO, H(2)NCN, HNCO and CO(2). The ion [NCO](-) arises in the negative mode. The cleavage of the glycosidic C-N bond is characteristic for relevant metabolites. Other neutral losses (CH(2)O, C(2)H(4)O(2) and C(3)H(6)O(3)) originate from fragmentation of the glycosidic part of the molecules. In addition to fragmentation, the formation of adducts of some ions with applied solvents (H(2)O, CH(3)OH) was observed. The composition of the solution infused into the ion source affects the appearance of the mass spectra. Tandem mass spectra allow one to distinguish compounds with the same molecular mass (uridine-pseudouridine and adenosine-2'-deoxyguanosine). Flow injection analysis APCI-MS/MS was tested on model samples of human urines corresponding to adenosine deaminase deficiency and xanthine oxidase deficiency. In both cases, the results showed potential diagnostic usefulness.     

Charge state-dependent fragmentation of oligonucleotide/metal complexes

Collision-activated dissociation (CAD) has been employed to assess the gas-phase fragmentation behavior of a series of 1:1 oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN):metal complexes over a range of charge states, using several ten-residue ODNs and a wide array of alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals. For parent species in low to intermediate charge states, complexation with Ca(+2), Sr(+2), or Ba(+2) altered the relative intensity of M-B species, promoting loss of cytosine over loss of guanine. The relative intensities of sequence ions were largely unaffected. This behavior was most prevalent for isomeric sequences with complementary residues at the 5'- and 3'-termini, suggesting that metal complexation may change the gas-phase conformation and/or conformational dynamics for some sequences. In higher charge states, some ODN/Ba(+2) complexes produced abundant fragment ions corresponding to metallated a(n)(-m) species, which are not commonly observed in CAD mass spectra for deprotonated ODNs. The formation of these ions was most favored for complexes between Ba(+2) and ODN sequences with a thymine residue at Position 6. Literature precedent exists for the formation of a(n)(-m) ions from sequences in which covalent modification generates one or more neutral sites along the phosphate backbone. ODN/metal adducts in high charge states possess only a few acidic protons, and the juxtaposition of these neutral phosphate groups near thymine residues and the bound Ba(+2) ion may direct formation of the metallated a(n)(-m) species.     

N-二异丙基磷酰基氨基酸的电子电离和快原子轰击质谱的比较

N-二异丙基磷酰基(DIPP)氨基酸的快原子轰击(FAB)和电子电离(EI)质谱都有相似的丢失两分子丙烯和一分子甲酸的碎裂过程.在FAB中,连续失掉两个丙烯,然后脱去甲酸的过程较为有利;在EI中则主要为先脱去甲酸,随后失去丙烯,本文对DIPP-氨基酸的FAB和EI质谱碎裂历程进行了比较,对分子离子峰的形式与碎裂方式的关系进行了讨论.     

Effect of stereochemistry on the electrospray ionization tandem mass spectra of transition metal chloride complexes of monosaccharides

The effect of stereochemistry on the complexation of aldohexoses (glucose, mannose, galactose, allose and talose) and ketohexoses (fructose, tagitose and sorbose) with transition metal chlorides (CoCl(2), NiCl(2), MnCl(2) and ZnCl(2)) has been investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Electrospray ionization of methanolic solutions of hexoses containing metal chlorides gave abundant ions corresponding to [M + MetCl](+) and [2M + MetCl](+) which on collision-induced dissociation gave characteristic fragment ions. The fragmentation pathways have been confirmed by examining methyl glucoside and several isotopically labeled glucoses. Eliminations of H(2)O and HCl, C-C cleavages and elimination of metalhydroxychloride are the competing fragmentation pathways observed. All these pathways seem to be influenced by the stereochemistry of the molecule. The fragmentation of the dimeric complexes, [2M + MetCl](+), is also controlled by the stereochemistry of the molecule. The abundance of the product ions corresponding to elimination of HCl is found to increase with increasing number of axial hydroxyl groups in aldohexoses. [2M + MetCl](+) dissociates by elimination of HCl followed by C(2)H(4)O(2) in aldohexose complexes and by elimination of HCl followed by C(3)H(6)O(3) in ketohexose complexes.     

Charge-driven fragmentation processes in diacyl glycerophosphatidic acids upon low-energy collisional activation. A mechanistic proposal

A mechanistic study of diacyl glycerophosphatidic acid (GPA) under low energy collisionally activated decomposition (CAD) with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry is reported. The fragmentation pathways leading to the formation of carboxylate anions [RxCO2-], (x = 1, 2) and the formation of the ions representing neutral loss of fatty acid ([M-H-RxCO2H] ) and neutral loss of ketene ([M-H-R'xCH-C=O] ) (Rx=R'xCH2) are charge-driven processes that are governed by the gas-phase basicity and the steric configuration of the molecules. The preferential formation of the ions of [M-H-R2CO2H]- > [M-H-R1CO2H]- and [M-H-R'2CH=C=O]- > [M-H-R'1CH=C=O]- are attributed to the fact that loss of fatty acid and loss of ketene are sterically more favorable at sn-2. While the observation of the abundance of [M-H-RxCO2H]- > [M-H-R'xCH=C=O]- is attributed to the acidity of the gas phase ion of GPA, which undergoes a more facile neutral loss of acid than loss of ketene. The major pathway leading to the formation of RxCO2- ion under low energy CAD arises from further fragmentation of the [M-H-RxCO2H]- ions by neutral loss of 136, resulting in an abundance of R1CO2- > R2CO2-. The differential formation of the carboxylate anions permits accurate assignment of the regiospecificity of the fatty acid substituents of GPA molecules by tandem mass spectrometry.     

Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the characterization of twenty-three flavonoids in the extract of Dalbergia odorifera

A method incorporating high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry, with parallel analysis by HPLC with UV detection using a diode-array detector, was developed for the qualitative characterization of flavonoids in D. odorifera. Twenty-three flavonoids, including six isoflavones, six neoflavones, four isoflavanones, three flavanones, two chalcones, one isoflavanonol and one pterocarpan, were unambiguously identified by comparing their retention times, UV and MS spectra with those of authentic compounds. Furthermore, the collision-induced dissociations of the [M-H]- ions were studied to clarify the MS behavior of the different types of flavonoids. In negative ion ESI-MS all the flavonoids yielded prominent [M-H]- ions in the first order mass spectra. Fragments involving losses of CH3*, H2O, CO, C2H2O, and CO2 were observed in the MS/MS spectra. Each of the seven types of flavonoid showed characteristic MS/MS fragmentation patterns. The isoflavanones, flavanones and chalcones were observed to undergo retro-Diels-Alder fragmentations. The spectra of almost all the neoflavonoids unexpectedly exhibited only [M-H-CH3]-* radical anions as base peaks without any further fragmentation. Substitution positions also remarkably influenced the fragmentation behavior, which could assist in distinction among the flavonoid isomers. The fragmentation rules deduced here could aid in the characterization of other flavonoids of these types.     

Characterization of inositol phosphorylceramides from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leishmania major</Emphasis> by tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization

We describe tandem mass spectrometric approaches, including multiple stage ion-trap and source collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI) to characterize inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) species seen as [M - H](-) and [M - 2H + Li](-) ions in the negative-ion mode as well as [M + H](+), [M + Li](+), and [M - H + 2Li](+) ions in the positive-ion mode. Following CAD in an ion-trap or a triple-stage quadrupole instrument, the [M - H](-) ions of IPC yielded fragment ions reflecting only the inositol and the fatty acyl substituent of the molecule. In contrast, the mass spectra from MS(3) of [M - H - Inositol](-) ions contained abundant ions that are readily applicable for assignment of the fatty acid and long-chain base (LCB) moieties. Both the product-ion spectra from MS(2) and MS(3) of the [M - 2H + Alk](-), [M + H](+), [M + Alk](+), and [M - H + 2Alk](+) ions also contained rich fragment ions informative for unambiguous assignment of the fatty acyl substituent and the LCB. However, the sensitivity of the ions observed in the forms of [M - 2H + Alk](-), [M + H](+), [M + Alk](+), and [M - H + 2Alk](+) (Alk = Li, Na) is nearly 10 times less than that observed in the [M - H](-) form. In addition to the major fragmentation pathways leading to elimination of the inositol or inositol monophosphate moiety, several structurally informative ions resulting from rearrangement processes were observed. The fragmentation processes are similar to those previously reported for ceramides. While the tandem mass spectrometric approach using MS(n) (n = 2, 3) permits the structures of the Leishmania major IPCs consisting of two isomeric structures to be unveiled in detail, tandem mass spectra from constant neutral loss scans may provide a simple method for detecting IPC in mixtures.     

Substituent effects on the gas-phase fragmentation reactions of sulfonium ion containing peptides

The multistage mass spectrometric (MS/MS and MS3) gas-phase fragmentation reactions of methionine side-chain sulfonium ion containing peptides formed by reaction with a series of para-substituted phenacyl bromide (XBr where X=CH2COC6H4R, and R=--COOH, --COOCH3, --H, --CH3 and --CH2CH3) alkylating reagents have been examined in a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. MS/MS of the singly (M+) and multiply ([M++nH](n+1)+) charged precursor ions results in exclusive dissociation at the fixed charge containing side chain, independently of the amino acid composition and precursor ion charge state (i.e., proton mobility). However, loss of the methylphenacyl sulfide side-chain fragment as a neutral versus charged (protonated) species was observed to be highly dependent on the proton mobility of the precursor ion, and the identity of the phenacyl group para-substituent. Molecular orbital calculations were performed at the B3LYP/6-31+G** level of theory to calculate the theoretical proton affinities of the neutral side-chain fragments. The log of the ratio of neutral versus protonated side-chain fragment losses from the derivatized side chain were found to exhibit a linear dependence on the proton affinity of the side-chain fragmentation product, as well as the proton affinities of the peptide product ions. Finally, MS3 dissociation of the nominally identical neutral and protonated loss product ions formed by MS/MS of the [M++H]2+ and [M++2H]3+ precursor ions, respectively, from the peptide GAILM(X)GAILK revealed significant differences in the abundances of the resultant product ions. These results suggest that the protonated peptide product ions formed by gas-phase fragmentation of sulfonium ion containing precursors in an ion trap mass spectrometer do not necessarily undergo intramolecular proton 'scrambling' prior to their further dissociation, in contrast to that previously demonstrated for peptide ions introduced by external ionization sources.     

Nitramine anion fragmentation: A mass spectrometric and Ab initio study

The fragment ion formation characteristics of the radical anions generated from hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitrotriazine (RDX) and its three nitroso metabolites were studied using GC/MS with negative chemical ionization (NCI) to understand the fragmentation mechanisms responsible for the formation of the most abundant ions observed in their NCI mass spectra. Ab initio and density functional theory calculations were used to calculate relative free energies for different fragment ion structures suggested by the m/z values of the most abundant ions observed in the NCI mass spectra. The NCI mass spectra of the four nitramines are dominated by ions formed by the cleavage of nitrogen-nitrogen and carbon-nitrogen bonds in the atrazine ring. The most abundant anions in the NCI mass spectra of these nitramines have the general formulas C(2)H(4)N(3)O (m/z 86) and C(2)H(4)N(3)O(2) (m/z 102). The analyses of isotope-labeled standards indicate that these two ions are formed by neutral losses that include two exocylic nitrogens and one atrazine ring nitrogen. Our calculations and observations of the nitramine mass spectra suggest that the m/z 86 and m/z 102 ions are formed from either the (M--NO)(-) or (M--NO(2))(-) fragment anions by a single fragmentation reaction producing neutral losses of CH(2)N(2)O or CH(2)N(2)O(2) rather than a set of sequential reactions involving neutral losses of HNO(2) or HNO and HCN.     

Tandem mass spectra of transition-metal ion adducts of glycosyl dithioacetals; distinction among stereoisomers

Electrospray ionization mass spectra of some glycosyl dithioacetals recorded in the presence of transition-metal chlorides, XCl2 (where X = Co, Mn and Zn), give abundant adduct ions such as [M+XCl]+ and [2M-H+X]+ and minor ions such as [M-H+X]+ and [2M+XCl]+. The tandem mass spectra of these adducts show characteristic elimination of neutral molecules such as H2O, HCl, EtSH, CH2O, C2H4O2/C2H4O. [M+XCl]+ ions fragment readily and the fragmentation appears to be stereochemically controlled as the relative abundances of the fragments are different for three stereoisomers. The added metal is lost as neutral molecules in the form of XCl(OH) and XCl(SEt). This is a predominant pathway in the ZnCl+ adducts. [2M+XCl]+ ions fragment preferentially by elimination of HCl, indicating strong metal interactions in the resulting dimeric [2M-H+X]+ ion. As there are several electron-rich centers in the molecule, the dimeric complex [2M-H+X]+ can have several structures and the observed fragmentations may reflect the sum of those of all these structures. The dimeric complexes fragment by elimination of neutral molecules leaving the dimeric interactions intact. The extent of fragmentation varies for the stereoisomers, leading to stereochemical differentiation.     

Characterization of phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate, and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: A mechanistic study

Structural characterization of phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI-4P), and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI-4,5-P2) by collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization is described. In negative ion mode, the major fragmentation pathways under low energy CAD for PI arise from neutral loss of free fatty acid substituents ([M - H - RxCO2H]-) and neutral loss of the corresponding ketenes ([M - H - R'xCH=C=O]-), followed by consecutive loss of the inositol head group. The intensities of the ions arising from neutral loss of the sn-2 substituent as a free fatty acid ([M - H - R2CO2H]-) or as a ketene ([M - H - R'2CH=C=O] ) are greater than those of ions reflecting corresponding losses of the sn-1 substutient. This is consistent with our recent finding that ions reflecting those losses arise from charge-driven processes that occur preferentially at the sn-2 position. These features permit assignment of the position of the fatty acid substituents on the glycerol backbone. Nucleophilic attack of the anionic phosphate onto the C-1 or the C-2 of the glycerol to which the fatty acids attached expels sn-1 (R1CO2-) or sn-2 (R2CO2-) carboxylate anion, respectively. This pathway is sterically more favorable at sn-2 than at sn-1. However, further dissociations of [M - H - RxCO2H - inositol] , [M - H - RxCO2H]-, and [M - H - RxCH=C=O]- precursor ions also yield RxCO2- ions, whose abundance are affected by the collision energy applied. Therefore, relative intensities of the RxCO2- ions in the spectrum do not reflect their positions on the glycerol backbone and determination of their regiospecificities based on their ion intensities is not reliable. The spectra also contain specific ions at m/z 315, 279, 259, 241, and 223, reflecting the inositol head group. The last three ions are also observed in the tandem spectra of the [M - H]- ions of phosphatidylinositol monophosphate (PI-P) and phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PI-P2), in addition to the ions at m/z 321 and 303, reflecting the doubly phosphorylated inositol ions. The PI-P2 also contains unique ions at m/z 401 and 383 that reflect the triply phosphorylated inositol ions. The [M - H]- ions of PI-P and PI-P2 undergo fragmentation pathways similar to that of PI upon CAD. However, the doubly charged ([M - 2H]2-) molecular ions undergo fragmentation pathways that are typical of the [M - H]- ions of glycerophosphoethanolamine, which are basic. These results suggest that the further deprotonated gaseous [M - 2H]2 ions of PI-P and PI-P2 are basic precursors.     

Fragmentation characteristics of b(n) (n=2-15) ions from protonated peptides

The fragmentation reactions of protonated oligoalanines (trialanine, tetraalanine and pentaalanine) and the fragments present in the electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrum of polyalanine have been studied by collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) mass spectrometry (MS(2) and MS(3) experiments). The MS(n) experiments provided strong evidence that the m/z 71n+1 ion series in the ESI mass spectrum of polyalanine is a b(n) series. These ions are formed via the b(n) -y(m) pathway of amide bond cleavage, which results in the formation of a proton-bound complex of an oxazolone and a peptide/amino acid. Also, the MS(2) spectra of the b(n) series from polyalanine revealed that the chain length of b(n) ions influences significantly the dissociations taking place. For example, b(n) ions start losing H(2)O at n ≥5 and the losses of CO and CO+NH(3) decrease in intensity from b(2) to b(15). The elimination of H(2)O+NH(3) and the elimination of 61 mass (HN=C=O+H(2)O) commence with b(6); their abundances initially increase up to ~ b(8)-b(9) and then gradually decrease until b(15) (largest fragment studied). The tandem mass spectrometry experiments help to elucidate the dissociation mechanisms of the observed structures of biopolymer fragments.     

Effects of transition metal ion coordination on the collision-induced dissociation of polyalanines

Transition metal-polyalanine complexes were analyzed in a high-capacity quadrupole ion trap after electrospray ionization. Polyalanines have no polar amino acid side chains to coordinate metal ions, thus allowing the effects metal ion interaction with the peptide backbone to be explored. Positive mode mass spectra produced from peptides mixed with salts of the first row transition metals Cr(III), Fe(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(I), and Cu(II) yield singly and doubly charged metallated ions. These precursor ions undergo collision-induced dissociation (CID) to give almost exclusively metallated N-terminal product ions whose types and relative abundances depend on the identity of the transition metal. For example, Cr(III)-cationized peptides yield CID spectra that are complex and have several neutral losses, whereas Fe(III)-cationized peptides dissociate to give intense non-metallated products. The addition of Cu(II) shows the most promise for sequencing. Spectra obtained from the CID of singly and doubly charged Cu-heptaalanine ions, [M + Cu - H](+) and [M + Cu](2+) , are complimentary and together provide cleavage at every residue and no neutral losses. (This contrasts with [M + H](+) of heptaalanine, where CID does not provide backbone ions to sequence the first three residues.) Transition metal cationization produces abundant metallated a-ions by CID, unlike protonated peptides that produce primarily b- and y-ions. The prominence of metallated a-ions is interesting because they do not always form from b-ions. Tandem mass spectrometry on metallated (Met = metal) a- and b-ions indicate that [b(n) + Met - H](2+) lose CO to form [a(n) + Met - H](2+), mimicking protonated structures. In contrast, [a(n) + Met - H](2+) eliminate an amino acid residue to form [a(n-1) + Met - H](2+), which may be useful in sequencing.     

Determination of the glycosylation site of flavonoid monoglucosides by metal complexation and tandem mass spectrometry

Metal complexation and tandem mass spectrometry were used to differentiate C- and O-bonded flavonoid monoglucoside isomers. Electrospray ionization of solutions containing a flavonoid glycoside and a metal salt led to the generation of the key [M(II) (L) (L-H)](+) complexes, where M is the metal ion and L is the flavonoid glycoside. Thirteen flavonoid monoglucosides were examined in combination with Ca(II), Mg(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II). Collisional activated dissociation (CAD) of the [M(II) (L) (L-H)](+) complexes resulted in diagnostic mass spectra, in contrast to the CAD mass spectra of the protonated, deprotonated, and sodium-cationized flavonoid glucosides. Five common sites of glycosylation could be predicted based on the fragmentation patterns of the flavonoid glucoside/magnesium complexes, while flavonoid glucoside/calcium complexes also were effective for location of the glycosylation site when MS(3) was employed. Cobalt, nickel and copper complexation had only limited success in this application. The metal complexation methods were also applied for characterization of a flavonoid rhamnoside, and the dissociation pathways of the metal complexes indicate that flavonoid rhamnosides have distinctive dissociation features from flavonoid glucosides.     

Side-chain radical losses from radical cations allows distinction of leucine and isoleucine residues in the isomeric peptides Gly-XXX-Arg

Sequencing of peptides via low-energy collision-induced dissociation of protonated peptides typically yields b(n) and y(n) sequence ions. The isomeric residues leucine and isoleucine rarely can be distinguished in these experiments since they give b(n) and y(n) sequence ions of the same m/z. Siu's pioneering work on electrospray ionization of copper complexes of peptides (Chu IK, Rodriquez CF, Lau TC, Hopkinson AC, Siu KWM. J. Phys. Chem. B 2000; 104: 3393) provides a way of forming radical cations of peptides in the gas phase. This method was used to generate M(+ small middle dot) ions of the two isomeric peptides Gly-Leu-Arg and Gly-Ile-Arg in order to compare their fragmentation reactions. Both radical cations fragment to give even electron y(2) and y(1) sequence ions as well as side-chain radical losses of CH(3) and CH(3)CH(2) for isoleucine and (CH(3))(2)CH for leucine. In contrast the [M + H](+) and [M + 2H](2+) ions do not allow distinction between the isomeric leucine and isoleucine peptides.     

Doubly charged porphyrin ion tandem mass spectrometry: Implications for structure elucidation

Under electron ionization (EI) conditions, porphyrins yield unusually high intensities of doubly charged molecular and fragment ions. These doubly charged ions offer unique opportunities for the structure elucidation of porphyrins by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). First, they fragment to a greater extent than the corresponding singly charged ions under both EI/MS and EI/MS/MS conditions. Second, doubly and singly charged porphyrin ions often fragment via different pathways, and can therefore yield different structural information. This paper describes several ways in which analyses of doubly charged porphyrin ions with a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer can be useful in structure elucidation of porphyrins. The effect of the metal atom on the fragmentation of metalloporphyrins in an EI source is demonstrated by correlating the extent of doubly charged fragment ion formation to a stability index. Doubly charged porphyrin ions are shown to yield predominantly doubly charged daughter ions upon collisionally activated dissociation (CAD), and are also shown to fragment to a greater extent than corresponding singly charged porphyrin ions. Advantages and disadvantages of doubly charged porphyrin ion MS/MS for structure elucidation are discussed.