Electron ionization-induced fragmentation of N-(alkoxymethyl)anilides

Electron ionization-induced fragmentation patterns of the series of N-(alkoxymethyl)acetanilides and related formanilides and benzanilides have been studied. The main fragmentation reaction observed for all compounds studied is the loss of an alkyl radical from the N-alkoxymethyl group leading to the appropriate protonated N-acylformanilide derivatives. This reaction is accompanied by unusually high kinetic energy release. Other important fragmentations common for majority of the compounds studied are (i) loss of an aldehyde molecule derived from an alkoxyl group yielding an appropriate N-acyl-N-methylaniline, (ii) elimination of a C(n)H(2n)O(2) fragment derived from N-alkoxymethyl group and carbonyl group oxygen atom and (iii) formation of N-methyleneaniline radical cation.     

Similarities and differences in the electron ionization-induced fragmentation of structurally related N-alkoxymethyl lactams and sultams

Unimolecular fragmentation patterns of the molecular ions of selected lactams and sultams bearing alkoxymethyl group at the nitrogen atom were studied. The main common fragmentation reaction observed for all compounds studied in this work is the elimination of an aldehyde molecule. This reaction is considered to proceed via two different mechanisms. For lactams, hydrogen rearrangement within an alkoxymethyl group is observed, which leads to the appropriate N-methyl derivatives. For sultams, transfer of the methyl group to the nitrogen and oxygen atoms, proceeding through an ion-neutral complex, dominates. Another important fragmentation channel characteristic exclusively for lactams is the loss of an alkyl radical. This process takes place within the N-alkoxymethyl moiety, yielding the appropriate protonated ion of N-formyllactams. This process is accompanied by relatively high kinetic energy release.     

Electron ionization-induced fragmentation of some new dibenzo(d, f)(1,3)dioxepine derivatives

The mass spectrometric behaviour of a series of 6,6-disubstituted dibenzo(d,f)(1,3)dioxepine derivatives have been studied. The fragmentation patterns were described and discussed in detail with the aid of labelled compounds, accurate mass measurements and collisionally induced dissociation experiments performed using an ion trap.     

An unprecedented rearrangement in collision-induced mass spectrometric fragmentation of protonated benzylamines

The collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra of several protonated benzylamines are described and mechanistically rationalized. Under collision-induced decomposition conditions, protonated dibenzylamine, for example, loses ammonia, thereby forming an ion of m/z 181. Deuterium labeling experiments confirmed that the additional proton transferred to the nitrogen atom during this loss of ammonia comes from the ortho positions of the phenyl rings and not from the benzylic methylene groups. A mechanism based on an initial elongation of a C--N bond at the charge center that eventually cleaves the C--N bond to form an ion/neutral complex of benzyl cation and benzylamine is proposed to rationalize the results. The complex then proceeds to dissociate in several different ways: (1) a direct dissociation to yield a benzyl cation observed at m/z 91; (2) an electrophilic attack by the benzyl cation within the complex on the phenyl ring of the benzylamine to remove a pair of electrons from the aromatic sextet to form an arenium ion, which either donates a ring proton (or deuteron when present) to the amino group forming a protonated amine, which undergoes a charge-driven heterolytic cleavage to eliminate ammonia (or benzylamine) forming a benzylbenzyl cation observed at m/z 181, or undergoes a charge-driven heterolytic cleavage to eliminate diphenylmethane and an immonium ion; and (3) a hydride abstraction from a methylene group of the neutral benzylamine to the benzylic cation to eliminate toluene and form a substituted immonium ion. Corresponding benzylamine and dibenzylamine losses observed in the spectra of protonated tribenzylamine and tetrabenzyl ammonium ion, respectively, indicate that the postulated mechanism can be widely applied. The postulated mechanisms enabled proper prediction of mass spectral fragments expected from protonated butenafine, an antifungal drug.     

Rearrangement process occurring in the fragmentation of adefovir derivatives

The fragmentation of the antiviral drug adefovir dipivoxil and its two active metabolites, adefovir and monopivoxil adefovir, was investigated using both ion trap and triple-quadrupole mass spectrometers. Fragment ions due to loss of 30 Da were observed and attributed to an unanticipated rearrangement process by loss of formaldehyde. The proposed mechanism is supported with the aid of three newly synthesized adefovir derivatives and with accurate mass measurement. Other fragmentations by loss of a pivaloyl group, loss of water, C-P bond cleavage and C-O bond cleavage were also observed for adefovir derivatives. It was concluded that the compounds containing a >POO-CHR-OCO- group generally displayed a rearrangement reaction by loss of RCHO in collision-induced dissociation, and the process generally required an activation energy lower than for a direct bond cleavage.     

Metastable Dissociation of Anions Formed by Electron Attachment

A comprehensive analysis of metastable dissociation of 2,4‐dinitrotoluene (DNT) parent anions formed by attachment of electrons of controlled energy is presented. We characterize the energy dependence and kinetic energy release of the reaction which competes with autodetachment. A surprising finding is a highly exothermic metastable reaction triggered by the attachment of thermal electrons which we relate to the well‐known electrostatic ignition hazards of DNT and other explosives. Quantum chemical calculations are performed for dinitrobenzene in order to elucidate the process of NO abstraction.     

Electron ionization mass spectrometry as a tool for the investigation of the ortho effect in fragmentation of some Schiff bases derived from amphetamine analogs

The electron ionization-induced fragmentation patterns of three forensically relevant Schiff bases, originating from the condensation between 2-, 3- and 4-methoxyamphetamine and the corresponding ketones, were studied. The proposed fragmentation routes and ion structures are supported by high-resolution data and B/E linked-scan and mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy spectra. The rationalization of the ortho effect, which is responsible for the formation of the [M-OCH3] fragment in the case of the imine bearing ortho-substituted methoxy group, is given.     

Collision-induced fragmentation of negative ions from N-linked glycans derivatized with 2-aminobenzoic acid

N-Linked glycans from bovine ribonuclease B, chicken ovalbumin, bovine fetuin, porcine thyroglobulin and human alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein were derivatized with 2-aminobenzoic acid by reductive amination and their tandem mass spectra were recorded by negative ion electrospray ionization with a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Derivatives were also prepared from 2-amino-5-methyl- and 2-amino-4,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid in order to confirm the identity of fragment ions containing the reducing terminus. Major fragments from the [M - H](-) ions from the neutral glycans retained the derivative (Y-type cleavages) and provided information on sequence and branching. Other major fragments were products of A-type cross-ring cleavages giving information on antenna structure. Singly doubly and triply charged ions were formed from sialylated glycans. They produced major fragments by loss of sialic acid and a series of singly charged ions that were similar to those from the neutral analogues. Doubly charge ions were also produced by the neutral glycans and were fragmented to form product ions with one and two charges. Again, the fragment ions with a single charge were similar to those from the singly charged parents, but branching information was less obvious because of the occurrence of more abundant ions produced by multiple cleavages. Detection limits were around 200 fmol (3 : 1 signal-to-noise ratio).     

Loss of benzene to generate an enolate anion by a site-specific double-hydrogen transfer during CID fragmentation of o-alkyl ethers of ortho-hydroxybenzoic acids

Collision-induced dissociation of anions derived from ortho-alkyloxybenzoic acids provides a facile way of producing gaseous enolate anions. The alkyloxyphenyl anion produced after an initial loss of CO(2) undergoes elimination of a benzene molecule by a double-hydrogen transfer mechanism, unique to the ortho isomer, to form an enolate anion. Deuterium labeling studies confirmed that the two hydrogen atoms transferred in the benzene loss originate from positions 1 and 2 of the alkyl chain. An initial transfer of a hydrogen atom from the C-1 position forms a phenyl anion and a carbonyl compound, both of which remain closely associated as an ion/neutral complex. The complex breaks either directly to give the phenyl anion by eliminating the neutral carbonyl compound, or to form an enolate anion by transferring a hydrogen atom from the C-2 position and eliminating a benzene molecule in the process. The pronounced primary kinetic isotope effect observed when a deuterium atom is transferred from the C-1 position, compared to the weak effect seen for the transfer from the C-2 position, indicates that the first transfer is the rate determining step. Quantum mechanical calculations showed that the neutral loss of benzene is a thermodynamically favorable process. Under the conditions used, only the spectra from ortho isomers showed peaks at m/z 77 for the phenyl anion and m/z 93 for the phenoxyl anion, in addition to that for the ortho-specific enolate anion. Under high collision energy, the ortho isomers also produce a peak at m/z 137 for an alkene loss. The spectra of meta and para compounds show a peak at m/z 92 for the distonic anion produced by the homolysis of the O--C bond. Moreover, a small peak at m/z 136 for a distonic anion originating from an alkyl radical loss allows the differentiation of para compounds from meta isomers. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Charge-remote fragmentation: an account of research on mechanisms and applications

Charge-remote fragmentation is one class of decomposition reactions of gas-phase ions. Their discovery and applications had to await the development of soft ionization, particularly fast atom bombardment, and tandem mass spectrometry. The decompositions are particularly informative and allow functional groups to be identified and located in fatty acids, surfactants, steroids, complex lipids, and related materials. These are difficult structure assignments to make by other mass-spectrometry methods or by nuclear magnetic resonance and other spectroscopic techniques. Thus, charge-remote fragmentation fills an important need in structural chemistry. The mechanisms of charge-remote fragmentation underpin their structural utility, and they are still a matter of some debate. In this account, we discuss the discovery of charge-remote fragmentation in our laboratory. Further, we describe our efforts to understand their mechanism and to exploit their high information content in structure determinations of fatty acid and related materials.     

Origin of Resonant Character in the Electron Impact Two-Body Neutral-Fragmentation of Methane

The observation of peaks in the threshold region of two-body neutral fragmentation of methane molecule, i. e., CH₄→CH₃+H, by low energy electron (LEE) impact has been an enigma. The prevailing explanation that this resonant behavior is due to excitation energy transfer is unsatisfactory since this process is not expected to show peaks in the cross-sections unless there is the involvement of electron-molecule resonances. Our first-principles calculations now reveal that the observed peaks could be explained as due to the formation of negative ion resonances, which dominantly dissociate into two neutral fragments and a free-electron. This case of methane is a pointer to the possibility that such reactions contribute significantly to neutral radical production from molecules by LEE impact in comparison to dissociative electron attachment, and in general could play a significant role in electron-based chemical control.     

Gaseous cation chemistry and chain-length effects in electron ionization and collision-induced dissociation mass spectra of symmetric 1,n-bis(9-anthracenyl)alkanes

The behavior of the gaseous cations resulting from EI (30 and 70 eV) of the bichromophoric title compounds 1–5 (for n = 1–5, respectively) is examined by ion‐trap mass spectrometry, including collision‐induced dissociation (CID) with variation in collision energy. These results are compared with those from anthracene and 9‐methylanthracene and with previously reported mass spectrometric results for 3 and dicarbazolylalkanes. Rather than using the kinetic method to obtain ion energetics where the fragmentation mechanism is clear, as commonly done, the method is used here with relative complementary‐ion abundances from CID to test the proposed fragmentation mechanisms using B3LYP calculations of relative ionization energies and optimized geometries of ionic and neutral fragments. Hydrogen migrations are common, and skeletal rearrangements including formation of expanded, fused and spiro rings are proposed in several cases. Of the chain cleavages, α‐homolysis giving C₁₅H₁₁⁺, likely as dibenzotropylium, is most important for each of 1–5 except 3, where β‐cleavage to C₁₆H₁₃⁺ dominates with a proposed methyldibenzotropylium structure. α‐Cleavage was important also in the dicarbazolylalkanes. A previous inference of a McLafferty rearrangement to explain C₁₅H₁₂^+? from 3 is not supported by the present results. The fragmentation behavior of 1–5 depends strongly on n and implies significant interchromophoric interaction between anthracenyl groups. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gas‐phase fragmentation of protonated piplartine and its fungal metabolites using tandem mass spectrometry and computational chemistry

Piplartine, an alkaloid produced by plants in the genus Piper , displays promising anticancer activity. Understanding the gas‐phase fragmentation of piplartine by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry can be a useful tool to characterize biotransformed compounds produced by in vitro and in vivo metabolism studies. As part of our efforts to understand natural product fragmentation in electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, the gas‐phase fragmentation of piplartine and its two metabolites 3,4‐dihydropiplartine and 8,9‐dihydropiplartine, produced by the endophytic fungus Penicillium crustosum VR4 biotransformation, were systematically investigated. Proposed fragmentation reactions were supported by ESI‐MS/MS data and computational thermochemistry. Cleavage of the C‐7 and N‐amide bond, followed by the formation of an acylium ion, were characteristic fragmentation reactions of piplartine and its analogs. The production of the acylium ion was followed by three consecutive and competitive reactions that involved methyl and methoxyl radical eliminations and neutral CO elimination, followed by the formation of a four‐member ring with a stabilized tertiary carbocation. The absence of a double bond between carbons C‐8 and C‐9 in 8,9‐dihydropiplartine destabilized the acylium ion and resulted in a fragmentation pathway not observed for piplartine and 3,4‐dihydropiplartine. These results contribute to the further understanding of alkaloid gas‐phase fragmentation and the future identification of piplartine metabolites and analogs using tandem mass spectrometry techniques. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gas phase retro‐Michael reaction resulting from dissociative protonation: fragmentation of protonated warfarin in mass spectrometry

A mass spectrometric study of protonated warfarin and its derivatives (compounds 1 to 5) has been performed. Losses of a substituted benzylideneacetone and a 4‐hydroxycoumarin have been observed as a result of retro‐Michael reaction. The added proton is initially localized between the two carbonyl oxygens through hydrogen bonding in the most thermodynamically favorable tautomer. Upon collisional activation, the added proton migrates to the C‐3 of 4‐hydroxycoumarin, which is called the dissociative protonation site, leading to the formation of the intermediate ion‐neutral complex (INC). Within the INC, further proton transfer gives rise to a proton‐bound complex. The cleavage of one hydrogen bond of the proton‐bound complex produces the protonated 4‐hydroxycoumarin, while the separation of the other hydrogen bond gives rise to the protonated benzylideneacetone. Theoretical calculations indicate that the 1, 5‐proton transfer pathway is most thermodynamically favorable and support the existence of the INC. Both substituent effect and the kinetic method were utilized for explaining the relative abundances of protonated 4‐hydroxycoumarin and protonated benzylideneacetone derivative. For monosubstituted warfarins, the electron‐donating substituents favor the generation of protonated substituted benzylideneacetone, whereas the electron‐withdrawing groups favor the formation of protonated 4‐hydroxycoumarin. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of Some Halogen- and Nitro-substituted Nicotinic Acids and Their Fragmentation Under Electron Impact

Features of electrophilic and nucleophilic substitution under chlorination and nitration reactions conditions have been investigated for 6-hydroxy- and 6-methyl-substituted derivatives of 3-cyano-4-methyl-2(1H)-pyridones. The polychloro- and nitro-substituted 3-cyano-4-methylpyridines obtained were used as synthons in the synthesis of some polyhalo- and nitro-substituted nicotinic acids and their amides. The fragmentation pathways of the synthesized compounds under electron impact have been studied.     

Competitive proton and hydride transfer reactions via ion‐neutral complexes: fragmentation of deprotonated benzyl N‐phenylcarbamates in mass spectrometry

The gas‐phase chemistry of deprotonated benzyl N‐phenylcarbamates was investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Characteristic losses of a substituted phenylcarbinol and a benzaldehyde from the precursor ion were proposed to be derived from an ion‐neutral complex (INC)‐mediated competitive proton and hydride transfer reactions. The intermediacy of the INC consisting of a substituted benzyloxy anion and a phenyl isocyanate was supported by both ortho‐site‐blocking experiments and density functional theory calculations. Within the INC, the benzyloxy anion played the role of either a proton abstractor or a hydride donor toward its neutral counterpart. Relative abundances of the product ions were influenced by the nature of the substituents. Electron‐withdrawing groups at the N‐phenyl ring favored the hydrogen transfer process (including proton and hydride transfer), whereas electron‐donating groups favored direct decomposition to generate the benzyloxy anion (or substituted benzyloxy anion). By contrast, electron‐withdrawing and electron‐donating substitutions at the O‐benzyl ring exhibited opposite effects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiisotopic modeling of fragmentation ion patterns in mass spectra of organometallic and coordination compounds

Investigation of hardly interpretable complex patterns can lead to an explanation of details of fragmentation and, therefore, the identification of ion clusters can be a significant procedure of mass spectra interpretation. The modeling presented remains a simple tool for mass spectra interpretation and determination of parameters of complex cluster components. Good adjustment of model to experimental data suggests that such components must be considered in the pattern interpretation; approach results in the model fits within a 1% precision for the cluster of two or more components. Applications of the Multiisotopic Modeling of Fragmentation Ion Patterns (MMFIP method) are presented for bis(dibutyldithiophosphate)‐zinc(II)‐[(C₄H₉O)₂PS₂]₂Zn, 1′,1‴‐dibenzylbiferrocene‐C₃₄H₃₀Fe₂ and 1,1′,2,2′,3,3′‐hexachloroferrocene‐C₁₀H₄Cl₆Fe as examples. It seems that the isotopic cluster modeling based on the least squares method can be a helpful aid for determination of the complex pattern components. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 354–365, 2001     

Electron ionization-induced fragmentation of R2N2Fe2(CO)6 complexes with distinct geometries of the tetrahedral core: investigation of mu-1,2-(1,2-diaza-3-methylcyclopentane)diylbis(tricarbonyliron) and bis(mu2-acetophenoniminato)bis(tricarbonyliron)

Two binuclear bis(tricarbonyliron) title complexes with N(2)Fe(2) tetrahedral cores, 1 and 2, respectively, which show different molecular folding resulting from the appearance (in 1), and absence (in 2) of the N-N sigma-bond, were compared in terms of mass spectral fragmentation routes. A multipath fragmentation noted for the molecule 1 revealing internal stress contrasts with the single-route fragmentation of 2. The fragmentation paths resulting from the admixtures were defined and analyzed from the fragment ion B/E and parent ion B(2)/E linked scan spectra.     

Gas‐phase fragmentation reactions of protonated benzofuran‐ and dihydrobenzofuran‐type neolignans investigated by accurate‐mass electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

We have investigated gas‐phase fragmentation reactions of protonated benzofuran neolignans (BNs) and dihydrobenzofuran neolignans (DBNs) by accurate‐mass electrospray ionization tandem and multiple‐stage (MSⁿ) mass spectrometry combined with thermochemical data estimated by Computational Chemistry. Most of the protonated compounds fragment into product ions B ([M + H–MeOH]⁺), C ([ B –MeOH]⁺), D ([ C –CO]⁺), and E ([ D –CO]⁺) upon collision‐induced dissociation (CID). However, we identified a series of diagnostic ions and associated them with specific structural features. In the case of compounds displaying an acetoxy group at C‐4, product ion C produces diagnostic ions K ([ C –C₂H₂O]⁺), L ([ K –CO]⁺), and P ([ L –CO]⁺). Formation of product ions H ([ D –H₂O]⁺) and M ([ H –CO]⁺) is associated with the hydroxyl group at C‐3 and C‐3′, whereas product ions N ([ D –MeOH]⁺) and O ([ N –MeOH]⁺) indicate a methoxyl group at the same positions. Finally, product ions F ([ A –C₂H₂O]⁺), Q ([ A –C₃H₆O₂]⁺), I ([ A –C₆H₆O]⁺), and J ([ I –MeOH]⁺) for DBNs and product ion G ([ B –C₂H₂O]⁺) for BNs diagnose a saturated bond between C‐7′ and C‐8′. We used these structure‐fragmentation relationships in combination with deuterium exchange experiments, MSⁿ data, and Computational Chemistry to elucidate the gas‐phase fragmentation pathways of these compounds. These results could help to elucidate DBN and BN metabolites in in vivo and in vitro studies on the basis of electrospray ionization ESI‐CID‐MS/MS data only.     

Substituent effect and multisite protonation in the fragmentation of alkyl benzoates

The dissociation of protonated alkyl benzoates (para H, CN, OMe and NO(2)) into protonated benzoic acids and alkyl cations was studied in the gas phase. It was found that the product ratio depends on the substituent at the para position of the phenyl ring. The substituent effect is probably the result of the formation of an ion-neutral complex intermediate that decomposes to an ion and a neutral, according to the relative proton affinities of the two moieties. The experimental results and theoretical calculations indicate that the favored protonation site in these compounds is the ester's carbonyl and that proton transfer from the phenyl ring to the ester group is very likely to occur under chemical ionization conditions. It is most probable that the carbonyl protonated form is a common intermediate in the fragmentation process, regardless of the protonation site.