Identification of position isomers by energy‐resolved mass spectrometry

This study reports an energy‐resolved mass spectrometric (ERMS) strategy for the characterization of position isomers derived from the reaction of hydroxyl radicals (^●OH) with diphenhydramine (DPH) that are usually hard to differentiate by other methods. The isomer analogues formed by ^●OH attack on the side chain of DPH are identified with the help of a specific fragment ion peak (m/z 88) in the collision‐induced dissociation (CID) spectrum of the protonated molecule. In the negative ion mode, the breakdown curves of the deprotonated molecules show an order of stability (supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations) ortho > meta > para of the positional isomers formed by the hydroxylation of the aromatic ring. The gas phase stability of the deprotonated molecules [M ? H]^? towards the benzylic cleavage depends mainly on the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds and of the mesomeric effect of the phenol hydroxyl. The [M ? H]^? molecules of ortho and meta isomers result a peak at m/z 183 with notably different intensities because of the presence/absence of an intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the OH group and C9 protons. The ERMS approach discussed in this report might be an effective replacement for the conventional methods that requires very costly and time‐consuming separation/purification methods along with the use of multi‐spectroscopic methods. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differentiation of AB‐FUBINACA positional isomers by the abundance of product ions using electron ionization–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

Mass spectrometric differentiation of structural isomers is important for the analysis of forensic samples. Presently, there is no mass spectrometric method for differentiating halogen positional isomers of cannabimimetic compounds. We describe here a novel and practical method for differentiating one of these compounds, N‐(1‐amino‐3‐methyl‐1‐oxobutan‐2‐yl)‐1‐(4‐fluorobenzyl)‐1H‐indazole‐3‐carboxamide (AB‐FUBINACA (para)), and its fluoro positional (ortho and meta) isomers in the phenyl ring by electron ionization–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. It was found that the three isomers differed in the relative abundance of the ion at m/z 109 and 253 in the product ion spectra, while the detected product ions were identical. The logarithmic values of the abundance ratio of the ions at m/z 109 to 253 (ln(A₁₀₉/A₂₅₃)) were in the order meta < ortho < para and increased linearly with collision energy. The differences in abundances were attributed to differences in the dissociation reactivity between the indazole moiety and the fluorobenzyl group because of the halogen‐positional effect on the phenyl ring. Our methodology, which is based on the abundance of the product ions in mass spectra, should be applicable to determination of the structures of other newly encountered designer drugs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a mass spectrometric hydroxyl‐position determination method for the hydroxyindole metabolites of JWH‐018 by GC‐MS/MS

One of the many issues of designer drugs of abuse like synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) such as JWH‐018 is that details on their metabolism has yet to be fully elucidated and that multiple metabolites exist. The presence of isomeric compounds poses further challenges in their identification. Our group has previously shown the effectiveness of gas chromatography‐electron ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry (GC‐EI‐MS/MS) in the mass spectrometric differentiation of the positional isomers of the naphthoylindole‐type SC JWH‐081, and speculated that the same approach could be used for the metabolite isomers. Using JWH‐018 as a model SC, the aim of this study was to differentiate the positional isomers of its hydroxyindole metabolites by GC‐MS/MS. Standard compounds of JWH‐018 and its hydroxyindole metabolite positional isomers were first analyzed by GC‐EI‐MS in full scan mode, which was only able to differentiate the 4‐hydroxyindole isomer. Further GC‐MS/MS analysis was performed by selecting m/z 302 as the precursor ion. All four isomers produced characteristic product ions that enabled the differentiation between them. Using these ions, MRM analysis was performed on the urine of JWH‐018 administered mice and determined the hydroxyl positions to be at the 6‐position on the indole ring. GC‐EI‐MS/MS allowed for the regioisomeric differentiation of the hydroxyindole metabolite isomers of JWH‐018. Furthermore, analysis of the fragmentation patterns suggests that the present method has high potential to be extended to hydroxyindole metabolites of other naphthoylindole type SCs in identifying the position of the hydroxyl group on the indole ring. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positional isomer differentiation of synthetic cannabinoid JWH‐081 by GC‐MS/MS

Like many new designer drugs of abuse, synthetic cannabinoids (SC) have structural or positional isomers which may or may not all be regulated under law. Differences in acute toxicity may exist between isomers which impose further burden in the fields of forensic toxicology, medicine and legislation. Isomer differentiation therefore becomes crucial from these standpoints as new designer drugs continuously emerge with just minor positional modifications to their preexisting analogs. The aim of this study was to differentiate the positional isomers of JWH‐081. Purchased standard compounds of JWH‐081 and its positional isomers were analyzed by gas chromatography‐electron ionization‐mass spectrometry (GC‐EI‐MS) first in scan mode to investigate those isomers who could be differentiated by EI scan spectra. Isomers with identical or near‐identical EI spectra were further subjected to GC‐tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis with appropriate precursor ions. EI scan was able to distinguish 3 of the 7 isomers: 2‐methoxy, 7‐methoxy and 8‐methoxy. The remaining isomers exhibited near‐identical spectra; hence, MS/MS was performed by selecting m/z 185 and 157 as precursor ions. 3‐Methoxy and 5‐methoxy isomers produced characteristic product ions that enabled the differentiation between them. Product ion spectrum of 6‐methoxy isomer resembled that of JWH‐081; however, the relative ion intensities were clearly different from one another. The combination of EI scan and MS/MS allowed for the regioisomeric differentiation of the targeted compounds in this study. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differentiation of isomeric dinitrotoluenes and aminodinitrotoluenes using electrospray high resolution mass spectrometry

Explosive detection and identification play an important role in the environmental and forensic sciences. However, accurate identification of isomeric compounds remains a challenging task for current analytical methods. The combination of electrospray multistage mass spectrometry (ESI‐MSⁿ) and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is a powerful tool for the structure characterization of isomeric compounds. We show herein that resonant ion activation performed in a linear quadrupole ion trap allows the differentiation of dinitrotoluene isomers as well as aminodinitrotoluene isomers. The explosive‐related compounds: 2,4‐dinitrotoluene (2,4‐DNT), 2,6‐dinitrotoluene (2,6‐DNT), 2‐amino‐4,6‐dinitrotoluene (2A‐4,6‐DNT) and 4‐amino‐2,6‐dinitrotoluene (4A‐2,6‐DNT) were analyzed by ESI‐MS in the negative ion mode; they produced mainly deprotonated molecules [M ? H]^?. Subsequent low resolution MSⁿ experiments provided support for fragment ion assignments and determination of consecutive dissociation pathways. Resonant activation of deprotonated dinitrotoluene isomers gave different fragment ions according to the position of the nitro and amino groups on the toluene backbone. Fragment ion identification was bolstered by accurate mass measurements performed using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT‐ICR/MS). Notably, unexpected results were found from accurate mass measurements performed at high resolution for 2,6‐DNT where a 30‐Da loss was observed that corresponds to CH₂O departure instead of the expected isobaric NO^? loss. Moreover, 2,4‐DNT showed a diagnostic fragment ion at m/z 116, allowing the unambiguous distinction between 2,4‐ and 2,6‐DNT isomers. Here, CH₂O loss is hindered by the presence of an amino group in both 2A‐4,6‐DNT and 4A‐2,6‐DNT isomers, but nevertheless, these isomers showed significant differences in their fragmentation sequences, thus allowing their differentiation. DFT calculations were also performed to support experimental observations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization and determination of chlorophacinone in plasma by ion chromatography coupled with ion trap electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Plasmatic chlorophacinone is commonly measured with liquid chromatographic assay, which convenient but lacks sensitivity and selectivity and usually requires ion pair reagents to reduce the chromatographic tailed peak. In this paper, a novel method using eluent generator reagent‐free ion chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometric detection for the determination of chlorophacinone in plasma has been developed. After samples were extracted with 10% (v/v) methanol in acetonitrile and cleaned by solid‐phase extraction, chromatographic separation was performed on an IonPac^® AS11 analytical column (250 × 4.0 mm) using 40.0 mmol/L KOH containing 10% (v/v) methanol as organic modifier. Quantification was performed by negative electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The transition m/z 373 → 201 was for the quantification ion; the transitions m/z 373 → 172 and m/z 373 → 145, as well as the isotope ions m/z 375 and m/z 203, were for the qualitative ions. All the method parameters were validated. It was confirmed that this method can be used in clinical diagnosis and forensic toxicology. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mass spectrometric detection,identification, and fragmentation of arseno‐phytochelatins

Phytochelatins (PC) are cystein‐rich oligopeptides in plants for coordination with toxic metals and metalloids via their thiol groups. The composition, structure, and mass spectrometric fragmentation of arseno‐PC (As‐PC) with PC of different degree of oligomerization (PC2–PC5) in solution were studied using liquid chromatography coupled in parallel to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. As‐PC were detected from As(PC2) to As(PC5) with an increasing number of isomers that differ in the position of thiol groups bound to As. Thermodynamic modeling supported the identification process in case of these isomers. Mass spectrometric fragmentation of the As‐PC does not follow the established pattern of peptides but is governed by the formation of series of As‐containing annular cations, which coordinate to As via S, N, or O. Structure proposals for 30 As‐PC fragment ions in the range m/z 147.92 to m/z 1290.18 are elaborated. Many of these fragment ions are characteristic to several As‐PC and may be suited for a screening for As‐PC in plant extracts. The mass spectrometric data offer the perspective for a future more sensitive determination of As‐PC by means of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with multiple reaction monitoring. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fragmentation characteristics of hydroxycinnamic acids in ESI‐MSn by density functional theory

This work aims to analyze the electrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometry (ESI‐MSⁿ) fragmentation characteristics of hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) in negative ion mode. The geometric parameters, energies, natural bond orbitals and frontier orbitals of fragments were calculated by density functional theory (DFT) to investigate mass spectral fragmentation mechanisms. The results showed that proton transfer always occurred during fragmentation of HCAs; their quasi‐molecular ions ([M − H]⁻) existed in more than one form and were mainly with the lowest energy. The fragmentation characteristics included the followings: (1) according to the different substitution position of phenolic hydroxyl group, the ring contraction reaction by CO elimination from benzene was in an increasingly difficult order: m‐phenolic hydroxyl > p‐phenolic hydroxyl > o‐phenolic hydroxyl; and (2) ortho effect always occurred in o‐dihydroxycinnamic acids (o‐diHCAs), i.e. one phenolic hydroxyl group offered H⁺, which combined with the other one to lose H₂O. In addition, there was a nucleophilic reaction during ring contraction in diHCAs that oxygen atom attacked the carbon atom binding with the other phenolic hydroxyl to lose CO₂. The fragmentation characteristics and mechanism of HCAs could be used for analysis and identification of such compounds quickly and effectively, and as reference for structural analogues by ESI‐MS. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differentiation of lisinopril and its RSS diastereomer by liquid chromatography combined with collision‐induced dissociation mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem multiple‐stage mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) method suitable for bulk lisinopril analysis was developed, by which lisinopril and its RSS isomer were separated and differentiated. In the collision‐induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra of the [M + H]⁺ ions, the abundance of the fragment ion of m/z 246 for lisinopril was about two times higher than the ion of m/z 245; however, the former fragment ion was noted to be a little lower than the latter for RSS isomer at all collision energies. In the CID mass spectra of the [M + Li]⁺ ion, the abundance of the rearrangement ion of m/z 315 for the RSS isomer was about three times higher than that for lisinopril. Furthermore, the difference was supported by the results of energy‐resolved mass spectrometry (ERMS) in the test range of collision energies. Similar differences were also observed between the CID mass spectra of lisinopril and RSS isomer methylester, which indicated that the RSS isomer could be rapidly characterized by the CID mass spectra of both the protonated and lithium adduct ion. Elemental compositions of all the ions were confirmed by Fourier Transform ion cyclotron resonance ESI mass spectrometry (FT‐ICR‐ESI/MS). In addition, theoretical computations were carried out to support the experimental results. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reactivity of gaseous sodiated ions derived from benzene dicarboxylate salts toward residual water in the collision gas

The sodium adduct of disodium salts of benzene dicarboxylic acids (m/z 233), when subjected to collision‐induced dissociation (CID), undergoes a facile loss of CO₂ to produce an ion of m/z 189, which retains all the three sodium atoms of the precursor. The CID spectrum of this unusual m/z 189 ion shows significant peaks at m/z 167, 63 and 85. The enigmatic m/z 167 ion, which appeared to represent a loss of a 22‐Da neutral fragment from the precursor ion is in fact a fragment produced by the interaction of the m/z 189 ion with traces of water present in the collision gas. The change of the m/z 167 peak to 168, when D₂O vapor was introduced to the collision gas of a Q‐ToF instrument, proved that such an intervention of water could occur even in collision cells of tandem‐in‐space mass spectrometers. The m/z 189 ion has such high affinity for water; it forms an ion/molecule complex even during the brief residence time of ions in collision cells of triple quadrupole instruments. The complex formed in this way then eliminates elements of NaOH to produce the ion observed at m/z 167. In an ion trap, the relative intensity of the m/z 167 peak increases with longer activation time even at the lowest possible collision energy setting. Similarly, the m/z 145 ion (which represents the sodium adduct of phenelenedisodium, formed by two consecutive losses of CO₂ from the m/z 233 ion of meta‐ and para‐isomers) interacts with water to produce a fragment ion at m/z 123 for the sodium adduct of phenylsodium. Other uncommon ions that originate also from water/ion interactions are observed at m/z 85 and 63 for [Na₃O]⁺ and [Na₂OH]⁺, respectively. Tandem mass spectrometric experiments conducted with appropriately deuterium‐labeled compounds confirmed that the proton required for the formation of the [Na₂OH]⁺ ion originates from traces of water present in the collision gas and not from the ring protons of the aromatic moiety. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of a series of isomeric oligosaccharides by energy‐resolved mass spectrometry: a challenge on homobranched trisaccharides

Glycans exist as part of glycoproteins and glycolipids, which are involved in a variety of biological functions. The analysis of glycan structures, particularly that of structural isomers, is fundamentally important since isomeric glycans often show distinct functions; however, a method for their structural elucidation has not yet been established. Anomeric configurations, linkage positions and branching are the major factors in glycans and their alteration results in a large diversity of glycan structures. The analysis of vicinally substituted oligosaccharides is extremely difficult because the product ions formed in tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) often have the same m/z values. In our endeavor to address the issue, we analyzed a series of homo‐substituted trisaccharides consisting only of glucose by collision‐induced dissociation (CID), especially energy‐resolved mass spectrometry (ERMS). It was found that these structurally related glycans could be distinguished by taking advantage of differences in their activation energies in ERMS. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of tamoxifen urinary metabolites in rat by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Tamoxifen (TMX) is a nonsteroidal estrogen antagonist drug used for the treatment of breast cancer. It is also included in the list of banned substances of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited in and out of competition. In this work, the excretion of urinary metabolites of TMX after a single therapeutic dose administration in rats has been studied using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography electrospray time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐TOFMS). A systematic strategy based on the search of typical biotransformations that a xenobiotic can undergo in living organisms, based on their corresponding molecular formula modification and accurate mass shifts, was applied for the identification of TMX metabolites. Prior to UHPLC‐TOFMS analyses, a solid‐phase extraction step with polymeric cartridges was applied to urine samples. Up to 38 TMX metabolites were detected. Additional collision induced dissociation (CID) MS/MS fragmentation was performed using UHPLC‐QTOFMS. Compared with recent previous studies in human urine and plasma, new metabolites have been reported for the first time in urine. Metabolites identified in rat urine include the oxygen addition, owing to different possibilities for the hydroxylation of the rings in different positions (m/z 388.2271), the incorporation of two oxygen atoms (m/z 404.2220) (including dihydroxylated derivatives or alternatives such as epoxidation plus hydroxylation or N‐oxidation and hydroxylation), epoxide formation or hydroxylation and dehydrogenation [m/z 386.2114 (+O –H₂)], hydroxylation of the ring accompanied by N‐desmethylation (m/z 374.2115), combined hydroxylation and methoxylation (m/z 418.2377), desaturated TMX derivate (m/z 370.2165) and its N‐desmethylated derivate (m/z 356.2009), the two latter modifications not previously being reported in urine. These findings confirm the usefulness of the proposed approach based on UHPLC‐TOFMS. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Removal of isobaric interference using pseudo-multiple reaction monitoring and energy-resolved mass spectrometry for the isotope dilution quantification of a tryptic peptide

Energy-resolved mass spectrometry (ERMS) and an isotopically labelled internal standard were successfully combined to accurately quantify a tryptic peptide despite the presence of an isobaric interference. For this purpose, electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) experiments were conducted into an ion trap instrument using an unconventional 8 m/z broadband isolation window, which encompassed both the tryptic peptide and its internal standard. Interference removal was assessed by determining an excitation voltage that was high enough to maintain a constant value for the analyte/internal standard peaks intensity ratio, thus ensuring accurate quantification even in the presence of isobaric contamination. Pseudo-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was employed above this excitation voltage to quantify the trypic peptide. The internal standard calibration model showed no lack of fit and exhibited a linear dynamic range from 0.5 μM up to 2.5 μM. The detection limit was 0.08 μM. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by quantifying the tryptic peptide of three reference samples intentionally contaminated with the isobaric interference. All the reference samples were accurately quantified with ∼1% deviation despite the isobaric contamination. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that this methodology can also be applied to quantify the isobaric peptide by standard additions down to 0.2 μM. Finally, liquid chromatography ERMS (LC ERMS) experiments yielded similar results, suggesting the potential of the proposed methodology for analysing complex samples.     

Identification of the Fatty Acyl Residues Composition and Molecular Species of Phosphatidylcholines in Soy Lecithin Powder by UPLC–ESI-MS/MS

The fatty acyl residues composition and molecular species of phosphatidylcholines (PCs) in soy lecithin powder were studied and characterized using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–ESI-MS/MS) via a two-step procedure. ESI-MS/MS by precursor ion scan (PIS) m/z 184.1 in positive ion mode first detected isobaric PCs, and further identified positional isomers and fatty acyl residue composition in negative ion mode. The results showed that the fatty acyl residue composition was in strong agreement with that detected by the classical analysis method. Likewise, ten peaks of isobaric PCs were obtained by ESI-MS/MS analysis in positive ion mode, and 20 positional isomers of PCs were characterized in negative ion mode. Thus, this study presents a simple and powerful way to analyze fatty acyl residue composition and molecular species of PCs without destroying chemical structure.

     

Characterization of an exception to the ‘even‐electron rule’ upon low‐energy collision induced decomposition in negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Electrospray‐generated precursor ions usually follow the ‘even‐electron rule’ and yield ‘closed shell’ fragment ions. We characterize an exception to the ‘even‐electron rule.’ In negative ion electrospray mass spectrometry (ES‐MS), 2‐(ethoxymethoxy)‐3‐hydroxyphenol (2‐hydroxyl protected pyrogallol) easily formed a deprotonated molecular ion (M‐H)^? at m/z 183. Upon low‐energy collision induced decomposition (CID), the m/z 183 precursor yielded a radical ion at m/z 124 as the base peak. The radical anion at m/z 124 was still the major fragment at all tested collision energies between 0 and 50 eV (E_lab). Supported by computational studies, the appearance of the radical anion at m/z 124 as the major product ion can be attributed to the combination of a low reverse activation barrier and resonance stabilization of the product ions. Furthermore, our data lead to the proposal of a novel alternative radical formation pathway in the protection group removal of pyrogallol. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distinctive MS/MS Fragmentation Pathways of Glycopeptide‐Generated Oxonium Ions Provide Evidence of the Glycan Structure

Post‐translational glycosylation of proteins play key roles in cellular processes and the site‐specific characterisation of glycan structures is critical to understanding these events. Given the challenges regarding identification of glycan isomers, glycoproteomic studies generally rely on the assumption of conserved biosynthetic pathways. However, in a recent study, we found characteristically different HexNAc oxonium ion fragmentation patterns that depend on glycan structure. Such patterns could be used to distinguish between glycopeptide structural isomers. To acquire a mechanistic insight, deuterium‐labelled glycopeptides were prepared and analysed. We found that the HexNAc‐derived m/z 126 and 144 oxonium ions, differing in mass by H₂O, had completely different structures and that high‐mannose N‐glycopeptides generated abundant Hex‐derived oxonium ions. We describe the oxonium ion decomposition mechanisms and the relative abundance of oxonium ions as a function of collision energy for a number of well‐defined glycan structures, which provide important information for future glycoproteomic studies.     

Generation of gas‐phase sodiated arenes such as [(Na3(C6H4)+] from benzene dicarboxylate salts

Upon collision‐induced activation, gaseous sodium adducts generated by electrospray ionization of disodium salts of 1,2‐ 1,3‐, and 1,4‐benzene dicarboxylic acids (m/z 233) undergo an unprecedented expulsion of CO₂ by a rearrangement process to produce an ion of m/z 189 in which all three sodium atoms are retained. When isolated in a collision cell of a tandem‐in‐space mass spectrometer, and subjected to collision‐induced dissociation (CID), only the m/z 189 ions derived from the meta and para isomers underwent a further CO₂ loss to produce a peak at m/z 145 for a sodiated arene of formula (Na₃C₆H₄)⁺. This previously unreported m/z 145 ion, which is useful to differentiate meta and para benzene dicarboxylates from their ortho isomer, is in fact the sodium adduct of phenelenedisodium. Moreover, the m/z 189 ion from all three isomers readily expelled a sodium radical to produce a peak at m/z 166 for a radical cation [(^?C₆H₄CO₂Na₂)⁺], which then eliminated CO₂ to produce a peak at m/z 122 for the distonic cation (^?C₆H₄Na₂)⁺. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

o‐Amino Analogs of Green Fluorescence Protein Chromophore: Photoisomerization,Photodimerization and Aggregation‐induced Emission

The photochemical properties of three o‐amino analogs of the green fluorescence protein chromophore O0, O1 and O8 (o‐ABDIs) have been investigated and compared with those of the m‐ and p‐amino isomers (m‐ABDIs and p‐ABDIs) in solutions, aggregates, and the solid state. In aprotic solvents, the fluorescence competes with the Z → E photoisomerization for all cases, and the o‐ABDIs display a fluorescence quantum efficiency of 1–6%, lying between the m‐ABDIs of 5–48% and the p‐ABDIs of < 0.1%. The fluorescence of both the o‐ and m‐ABDIs is nearly quenched in protic solvents, attributable to the solvent–solute hydrogen bonding (SSHB) interactions. The phenomenon of aggregation‐induced emission observed for O8 in poor solvents resembles the behavior of M8 as a consequence of exclusion of the SSHB interactions and restriction of internal rotation for molecules located inside the aggregates. The occurrence of [2 + 2] photodimerization for O0 in the solid state is unique among the ABDIs, and the X‐ray crystal structures of O0 and the photodimer OD reveal the head‐to‐tail syn‐oriented stereochemistry. Analysis on the X‐ray crystal structures of O0, O1, M0, M1 and P0 shows that not only the pairwise topochemical geometry but also the columnar packing mode is important in determining the photodimerization reactivity.     

Ortho effects in organic molecules on electron impact. Part 15. Oxygen transfers from the nitro group to both sulphur and olefinic double bonds in allyl o-nitrophenyl sulphide

An oxygen transfer from the nitro group to the C?C group, followed by a simple cleavage, afford intense fragments corresponding to o-nitrosothiophenol at m/z 139 and o-nitrosothiophenoxy cation at m/z 138 during mass spectral fragmentations of allyl o-nitrophenyl sulphide. Further, a concerted double oxygen transfer from the nitro group to the sulphur is proposed for the ejection of ?O₂H from the molecular ion of this compound, leading to the quinolinium cation at m/z 130. These processes are supported by the high-resolution data, collision-induced dissociation linked-scan spectra and chemical evidence.     

应用非同质荷比规则提高蛋白质组学检索结果的可信度和灵敏度

如何筛选合理的数据库匹配结果对于基于质谱的蛋白质组学研究至关重要。但是目前,基于打分体系和反转数据库的筛选方法都无法有效的避免假阳性和假阴性匹配的存在。因此,本文提出了一种系统的搜索策略: 非同质荷比检索规则 (INMZS)。在该策略中,所有匹配结果都需要检查相关匹配质荷比的分享程度,只有那些相关质荷比均为专有匹配时,蛋白质才会被作为可信结果保留,策略还采用迭代搜索方法以提高鉴定低丰度组分的灵敏度。最终,所有的匹配结果由诱饵数据库方法进行评估以得到最终结果列表。INMZS策略在标准蛋白质混合物和大规模人肝蛋白质组数据上进行了模拟及应用,结果显示,INMZS规则和诱饵数据库评估方法的结和可以有效的保证蛋白质组学数据匹配的可信度及灵敏度,可以广泛适用于基于二维凝胶电泳及非shotgun技术的蛋白组学研究中。