A comparison of negative and positive ion mass spectrometry

Negative ion mass spectrometry using a conventional mass spectrometer with a special ion source and a sample pressure of approximately 2 × 10^?5 Torr is shown to be an excellent method for the qualitative analysis of lower mass alcohols, mercaptans, ketones, aldehydes, aliphatic carboxylic acids and esters, the spectra of which are characterized by intense [M – H] ^? ions. The method may be termed a ‘selective’ low energy ionization technique, being suitable for the above organic compounds, but not for nitriles, nitro compounds, hydrocarbons, ethers, amines, amides, nitrogen heterocycles and chlorinated compounds. This method can be looked upon as a complementary method, to positive ion mass spectrometry.     

某些西佛碱类化合物的质谱重排反应

研究了十四种西佛碱类化合物的电子轰击质谱，利用碰撞诱导解离(CID)和B/E联动扫描技术，证实了特殊重排产物的离子结构及生成机理，并利用亚稳离子测定方式对这类化合物的主要离子进行了归属。     

Studies in negative ion mass spectrometry. V—A Comparison of positive a positive and negative ion mass spectra of copper(II) complexes of bidentate schiff base ligands

70 eV positive and negative ion mass spectra of a series of copper(II) Schiff base complexes have been obtained consecutively under the same ion source conditions. The characteristic feature of the negative ion spectra is their extreme simplicity relative to the corresponding positive ion spectra, the only ions present in significant abundance being the molecular anions and ligand ions. The influence of substituents (R) on positive and negative ion fragmentation patterns is discussed. Metastable peaks have been obtained in all cases for the transition [Cu(Ligand)₂]^? → [Ligand]^?.     

Comparison of the positive and negative ion electrospray mass spectra of some small peptides containing pyroglutamate

The positive ion electrospray mass spectra of [M+H](+) and the negative ion electrospray mass spectra of [M-H](-) ions of selected pyroglutamate containing peptides both provide sequencing data. The negative ion spectra show the normal alpha and beta backbone cleavages in addition to delta and gamma backbone cleavages initiated by the side chains of Glu and Phe residues. For example, the [M-H](-) ion of pGlu Pro Gln Val Phe Val-NH(2) shows delta and gamma peaks at m/z 224 (delta, Gln3), 244 (gamma, Phe4), 451 (delta, Phe4), 471 (gamma, Gln3). Some of the negative ion spectra show unusual grandaughter peaks that originate by alpha and beta, or delta and gamma backbone cleavages of a beta(1) cleavage ion.     

Comparison of negative and positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectra of calmodulin and its complex with trifluoperazine

The protein calmodulin (apoCaM) undergoes a conformational change when it binds calcium. This structure of the protein (Ca4CaM) is a dumbbell-shaped molecule that undergoes a further profound conformational change on binding of the antipsychotic drug trifluoperazine (TFP). Experimental conditions were developed to prepare samples of apoCaM, Ca4CaM and Ca4CaM/TFP that were substantially free of sodium. The effects of the conformational changes of calmodulin on the charge-state distributions observed in positive ion and negative ion electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra were examined. Conversion of apoCaM into Ca4CaM was concomitant with a change in the negative ion ESI mass spectrum whereby the 16- ion was the most abundant ion observed for the apo form and the 8- ion was the most abundant for the complex. In contrast, in the positive ion ESI mass spectra of apoCaM and Ca4CaM, the most abundant species in each case was the 8+ ion. When a complex of Ca4CaMwith TFP was prepared, the most abundant species was the 5+ ion. This is consistent with a conformational change of Ca4CaM that rendered some basic sites inaccessible to ionization in the ESI process. Using the same Ca4CaM/TFP mixture, no complex with TFP was observed in negative ion ESI mass spectra. These observations are discussed in the context of the structural changes that are known to occur in calmodulin, and suggestions are made to explain the apparently conflicting data. The results reported here reflect on the validity of using differences in charge-state distributions observed in ESI mass spectra to assess conformational changes in proteins.     

The negative ion mass spectra of methanol and deuterated methanol

The negative ion mass spectra of methanol, methanol-d and trideuteromethanol have been measured at 70 eV. Use of deuterated methanols has enabled the ion at m/e 31 to be identified as CH₃O^? and not CH₂OH^?. Isotope effects have been determined for H^? and D^? formation, and for OH^? and OD^? formation. It has been shown that OH^? formation occurs as a rearrangement reaction as well as by simple C? O bond fission.     

The gas enhanced negative ion mass spectra of polychloroanisoles

Methane or a methane–oxygen mixture was used as an enhancement gas to obtain negative ion mass spectra of polychloroanisoles. Dichloroanisoles did not react with oxygen but the more highly chlorinated anisoles did. Compounds with hydrogen ortho to the methoxy group had [M? 1]^? ions, while others gave . The fragment arose through loss of an ortho chlorine and amethyl hydrogen. The loss of HCl followed by oxygen displacement of a remaining ortho or para chlorine produced [M? 55]^? ions; the para position was the preferred site of displacement. Another ion-molecule reaction with oxygen leads to [M? CH₂Cl]^?. The fragmentations resemble those of chlorinated aromatics such as the polychlorodibenzodioxins.     

Negative and positive secondary ion mass spectra of organic acids

Organic compounds can be ionized by sputtering the solid sample. The resulting negative and positive secondary ions provide mass spectra which characterize both the molecular weights and the structures of the compounds. Ionization occurs either by direct ejection of charged species from the solid into vacuum or by electron or proton transfer. The sputtered secondary ions dissociate unimolecularly to give fragment ions. These reactions are identical to those which occur when the secondary ions are independently generated by chemical ionization, selected by mass and dissociated in a high energy gas phase collision. The negative ion SIMS spectra show molecular ions (M^?.) or (M-H)^? ions as the dominant high mass species together with fragments due to decarboxylation, dehydration and losses of other simple molecules. Stronger acids show larger (M-H)^?/M^?.abundance ratios. The positive ion spectra are complementary and also useful in characterizing molecular structures. Attachment of cations to organic molecules (cationization) occurs much more readily than anion attachment and this makes negative SIMS spectra simpler than these positive ion counterparts.     

Electron capture negative ion and positive ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry of polychlorinated phenoxyanisoles

Several polychlorinated phenoxyphenols with three to nine chlorine atoms were examined as their methyl ethers by electron capture negative ion and positive ion chemical ionization and electron impact mass spectrometry. In chemical ionization studies methane, hydrogen, nitrogen, helium and argon were used as reagent gases. Selected compounds were also examined with deuteriomethane, ammonia and deuterioammonia as reagent gases. Utilization of chemical ionization spectra in conjuction with electron impact spectra provides substantial structural information about these compounds. Chemical ionization spectra provide information about chlorine atom substitution. The position of phenoxy substitution can be established from electron capture negative ion and positive ion spectra.     

Rearrangement processes in the mass spectra of N-substituted sulphoximines

The electron-impact mass spectra of a range of N-substituted sulphoximines have been recorded and rationalised. Intense peaks consistent with oxygen-to-sulphur and sulphur-to-sulphur migrations were observed in the spectra of some of the compounds.     

Host-defence skin peptides of the Australian Common Froglet Crinia signifera: sequence determination using positive and negative ion electrospray mass spectra

The amino acid sequences of seven signiferin peptides are provided by consideration of tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) data for the respective MH+ and [M--H]- precursor ions. These methods do not differentiate between isomeric residues Leu and Ile; these were identified using the Edman degradation technique. The sequence of signiferin 1, a new smooth muscle contracting neuropeptide (RLCIPYIIPC-OH) containing a disulfide bridge, is best determined using the collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectrum of the [M--H]- anion. The initial fragmentation of this system involves loss of H2S2, which furnishes an open-chain system that is readily sequenced using the alpha and beta backbone cleavage anions.     

Positive and negative ion mass spectra of Aryl-ONN-azoxy compounds containing electron withdrawing groups

The positive and negative ion mass spectra, at 70 eV, of p-RC₆H₄N(O)?NCOOCH₃ (R?H, Cl, Br, NO₂), C₆H₅N(O)?NCOOC₂H₅, p-RC₆H₄N(O)?NCONH₂ (R?H, Cl, Br, NO₂) and p-RC₆H₄N(O)?NCOC₆H₅ (R?H, Cl, Br, NO₂) are reported. The azoxyester derivatives show abundant molecular ions and a number of weak fragment and rearrangement ions in the positive ion mass spectra, whereas weak molecular ions and abundant low mass fragment ions are present in the negative ion mass spectra. Similar behaviour is observed in the mass spectra of the azoxyamides. Conversely, for the azoxycarbonyl compounds the positive molecular ion is absent. A ready cleavage of the N? CO bond occurs and only few fragments of low diagnostic value are formed, whereas the negative molecular ion is the base peak for all these compounds with the exception of the p-NO₂ derivative, where [M? O]^?? is the base peak and [M]^?? is the second major ion. The behaviour under electron impact of these classes of compounds is compared with that of azoxycyanides reported previously.     

Gas phase electron attachment reactions and negative ion mass spectra of tris- and bis(N,N-diethyldithiocarbamato) metal complexes

Results are presented for the gas phase thermalized electron attachment reactions of transition metal dithiocarbamates Metal·[S₂CN·Et₂]_n, with n = 3 for the trivalent metals Cr, Mn, Fe, Co and n = 2 for the divalent metals Fe, Co, Ni, Pd and Cu. Details of negative ion mass spectra are given, and these were obtained by use of the complementary methods of in-beam direct insertion and desorption chemical ionization of samples into temperature and pressure controlled ion source methane gas plasmas. For the tris-complexes, only small abundances of [M]^? were observed, being consistent with the electron entering a metal-based orbital to give a reduced [Metal^II·L₃]*^? species—the precursor of the observed [Metal^II·L₂]^? or [L]^? product ions. For the bis-complexes, a much higher proportion of the total ion current was carried by [M]^?, with [L]^? being the next most abundant species in all cases and the principal product in the reaction sequence \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${[{\rm Metal}^{{\rm II}} \cdot {\rm L}_{\rm 2}] + {\rm e} \to [{\rm Metal}^{\rm I} \cdot {\rm L}_{\rm 2}]^{*-} \mathop {\rightarrow}\limits^* [{\rm L]}^{\rm - } + [{\rm Metal}^{\rm I} \cdot {\rm L}].}$\end{document}. Rearrangement ions [L·Metal^I·X]^? with X=SH, SCN, NEt₂ were also identified for this series which can be accounted for by rearrangement reactions occurring in ligands not fulfilling a bidentate function towards the relevant metal.     

Positive and negative ion mass spectra of oxygen,sulphur and selenium 2,1,3-benzodiazoles

The 70 eV positive and negative ion mass spectra of the oxygen, sulphur and selenium 2,1,3-benzodiazoles have been studied. The influence of hetero atom on the fragmentation modes of the benzodiazole molecular ions has been discussed.     

Why are electron capture negative ion mass spectra not reproducible? An ion source problem

Differences in the electron capture negative ion mass spectra of environmentally related organic compounds acquired on a VG 30-250 triple quadruple mass spectrometer and on an HP 5985B gas chromatography/mass spectrometry system were investigated with respect to the ion formation process. Neither ion source temperature nor pressure was responsible for the differences. The populations of thermal electrons in both ion sources were experimentally determined and found to be similar, suggesting that electron capturing reactions should proceed with comparable efficiencies in both ion sources. The ion extraction efficiencies of the two instruments were examined by monitoring the transmission profiles of low- and high-mass ions as a function of lens potentials. Results indicated that the HP 5985B extraction lens significantly suppressed low-mass ions. Further, theoretical evaluation of ion trajectories using SIMION suggested that on the HP 5985B, low-mass ions entered the mass analyzer as a defocused beam, but high-mass ions entered the analyzer as a well-collimated beam. On the VG 30–250, low- and high-mass ions were transmitted to the analyzer with equal efficiency by the ion extraction system.     

Alkali halides based on nano-alumina as positive and negative ion source for ion mobility and mass spectrometry

In this work, a new long-life alkali ion source is proposed that is based on alkali halide salts doped in nano-γ-alumina (Al₂O₃). Depending on the polarity, the ion source produces both alkali and halide ions. The source was characterized using different techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). SEM images confirm a strong interaction between the alkali halide (MX) and nano-γ-alumina. The average particle size of the doped nanoparticles was calculated to be 44 nm by TEM. Formation of new phases (KAlCl₂O and K₃AlF₆) was confirmed by XRD and that of Al–O–K group in the synthesized particles by FT-IR. Alkali and halide ion peaks were observed by IMS in the positive and negative modes, respectively. The lifetime of the ion source for different alkali halides was measured to range from 216 to 960 h. The total ion current emitted from the source was about 2 µA, while it was 12 nA at the collector plate of the IMS. Finally, application of the new source in ion mobility spectrometry was demonstrated by observing ion mobility spectra of compounds ionized via cation and anion attachment reaction.     

Rearrangement processes in the mass spectra of some 3,5-dimethylisoxazole derivatives

The mass spectra of isoxazole and some 3,5-dimethylisoxazole derivatives were investigated. Schemes for the formation of the principal rearranged ions are proposed on the basis of a study of the dissociative ionization of labeled compounds. Examples of the effect of electronic and steric factors on the probability of the existence of different channels for disintegration of the molecular ion are presented. It is shown that the formation of an ion with mass 82 during the dissociative ionization of a number of the investigated compounds occurs via different mechanisms as a function of the nature of the substituents in the 4 position of the isoxazole ring.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 10, pp. 1336–1340, October, 1972.     

Rearrangement with formamide extrusion in the electrospray mass spectra of aminoacylbenzylamines

Several aminoacylbenzylamines and their analogs were synthesized and analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry together with high-resolution and tandem mass spectrometric techniques. Fragment ions ([M + H - CH3NO](+)) were observed and attributed to a transfer of the benzyl group to the N-terminal amino group, leading to elimination of formamide. The proposed mechanism is supported by accurate mass measurements, and by experiments on deuterium labeling and variations of functional groups.