Mass spectrometry of hydroxy dicarboxylic acids as trimethylsilyl derivatives. Rearrangement fragmentations

Gas chromatography—mass spectrometry offers a convenient method for the separation and identification of hydroxy dicarboxylic acids as open-chain trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives. Mass spectra were studied of aldaric (tartronic, tartaric, pentaric and hexaric) acids and deoxyaldaric (malic, 2-deoxypentaric, 2-deoxyhexaric, 3-deoxypentaric and 3-deoxyhexaric) acids. The different structural types can be readily identified from their characteristic spectra. The most prominent fragmentations involving the rupture of one bond are the loss of a siliconlinked methyl group and the formation of α-cleavage ions by carbon chain cleavage. The further decay is characterized by a number of significant rearrangements specific of TMS derivatives. Several of these can be classified as involving migration of a TMS group to an oxygen atom or migration of an ester OTMS group to a silicon atom. Concomitant loss of a stable molecule often provides a driving force. Prominent odd-electron ions are formed by a McLafferty-type rearrangement of a TMS group. The decomposition of several even-electron ions can be regarded as analogous to that rearrangement.     

Electron impact-induced rearrangement of trimethylsilyl groups in long chain compounds

Mass spectra of trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives of long chain dicarboxylic acids, hydroxy acids, cyano acids, and terminal diols, dithiols and diamines have been examined. A number of fragmentation pathways involving rearrangement of partial or intact TMS groups between the termini or remote points in the chain have been determined, using deuterium and carbon-13 labeling, and high resolution mass spectrometry. Knowledge of the occurrence of functional group migrations of this type is essential to the correct interpretation of mass spectra of TMS derivatives, which are now in wide use in mass spectrometry and gas chromatography. These data in addition provide further evidence for the general ability of remote functional groups to interact, by winding or coiling of long chains. A number of interesting doubly-charged ions are reported, in which the charges are reported, in which the charges are located at opposite ends of long chains, and for which no singly-charged counterparts are observed.     

Electron ionization mass spectral fragmentation of derivatized 4,5- and 5,6-epoxysterols

The electron ionization (EI) mass spectral fragmentation of derivatized 4,5- and 5,6-epoxysterols was investigated. Interesting fragmentation processes involving a transannular cleavage of the epoxide ring after transfer of the trimethylsilyl group are significant in the case of 4,5-epoxysterol trimethylsilyl ethers (affording abundant fragment ions at m/z 403 and 404). Different pathways, which have been substantiated by deuterium labelling, are proposed in order to explain the formation of these ions. In contrast, this transfer is not significant in the case of 5,6-epoxysterol trimethylsilyl ethers. The EI mass spectra of these latter compounds appear to be very complex and to differ slightly according to the stereochemistry of the epoxy group. Acetate and trifluoroacetate derivatives of 4,5-epoxysterols display interesting EI mass spectra dominated by a fragment ion at m/z 332 resulting from cleavage of the steroid ring A.     

Destabilized carbenium ions: α-imidoyl carbenium ions and the electron impact mass spectra of α-haloaldimines and α-haloketimines

A series of α-chloro- and α-bromoketimines compounds (1-9) with different substituents at the α-position and at the imino group has been investigated by electron impact mass spectrometry as possible precursors of the correspondingly substituted α-imidoyl carbenium ion, an important class of destabilized carbenium ions. The main fragmentation of the molecular ions of compounds, 1-9 in the ion source corresponds to an α-cleavage at the imino group; however, fragment ions are also formed by loss of the α-halo substituent. These fragment ions correspond at least formally to α-imidoyl carbenium ions. Their further reactions in dependence on the type of substituents at the imino group and at the α-C atom, were studied by mass-analysed ion kinetic energy and collisional activation mass spectrometry. The results agree with the initial formation of destabilized α-imidoyl carbenium ions but indicate an easy rearrangement of these ions in the presence of suitable alkyl substituents by 1,2- and 1,4-hydrogen shifts to more stable isomers.     

Electron ionization mass spectral fragmentation of C19 isoprenoid aldehydes and carboxylic acid methyl and trimethylsilyl esters

The electron ionization (EI) mass spectra of saturated and alpha,beta-unsaturated C(19) isoprenoid aldehydes and carboxylic acid methyl and trimethylsilyl esters are reported. Different pathways are proposed in order to explain the main fragmentations observed. The conjugated double bond migrates more or less readily before gamma-hydrogen rearrangement according to the structure of the considered compound. Configurations of the double bond of alpha,beta-unsaturated C(19) isoprenoid aldehydes and fatty acid methyl and trimethylsilyl esters can be easily determined thanks to the peaks at m/z 97, 127 and 185, respectively, which are much more abundant in the mass spectra of the Z isomers owing to the formation of a cyclic ion. In the case of trimethylsilyl esters, subsequent fragmentation of the cyclic ion at m/z 185 affords two other diagnostic ions at m/z 95 and 169.     

A convenient synthesis of tetrazole, precursors of α-dialkylated α-amino acids, by reaction of trimethylsilyl azide with α-dialkylated β-ketoesters

The Schmidt rearrangement using trimethylsilyl azide with various α-dialkylated β-keto esters affords a convenient synthesis of tetrazole, precursors of α-dialkylated α-amino acids.     

Multistep derivatization method for the determination of multifunctional oxidation products from the reaction of α-pinene with ozone

A novel three-step analytical method was developed which enables the simultaneous detection and identification of multifunctional oxygenated products resulting from the reaction of α-pinene with ozone. The method consists of the following steps: conversion of carbonyl groups to methyloximes using methyloxyamine, conversion of carboxylic acids to methyl esters using trimethylsilyldiazomethane (TMSD), and conversion of alcohols to trimethylsilyl ethers using N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA). The derivatization procedure at each stage was optimized yielding the appropriate amount of derivatization reagent, reaction temperature and time. The newly developed analytical procedure manages without processes of extraction and evaporation to dryness at any stage. Total time for sample analysis is short ca. 3h. The characteristic ions of derivatives and common pattern for ion fragmentation in capillary gas chromatography electron impact mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS) analysis were elucidated and discussed.     

Mass spectral studies of a series of N,N-dialkyl aminoethyl-2-chlorides and trimethyl silyl ethers of N,N-dialkyl aminoethane-2-ols under electron impact conditions

The electron impact (EI) mass spectra of a series of N,N-dialkyl-aminoethyl-2-chlorides, N(R(1))(R(2))-CH(2)-CH(2)Cl and trimethylsilyl ethers of N,N-dialkyl aminoethane-2-ols, N(R(1))(R(2))-CH(2)-CH(2)-O-Si(CH(3))(3), where R(1) and R(2) = methyl, ethyl, propyl and isopropyl, which are precursors of VX type of compounds, are studied. All the compounds (1-20) show abundant molecular ions, in addition to a weak [M - H](+) ion, except the N,N-diisopropyl group containing compounds (8 and 18). A general EI fragmentation pattern for the above two series of compounds is discussed. The observed fragment ions are due to simple homolytic cleavages, and they are distinct to allow the identification of the compounds unequivocally including those of isomeric compounds. The primary fragmentation of compounds 1-20 is beta-cleavage, i.e. homolytic cleavage of C-C bond, which is linked to the nitrogen atom. Three types of beta-cleavages are possible for these compounds, in which the abundance of beta-cleavage product ions is found to depend on the size and structure of the alkyl group attached to nitrogen. The alpha-cleavage fragment ions are found only for N,N-dialkyl aminoethyl-2-chlorides but are absent in the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers of N,N-dialkyl aminoethane-2-ols. The retention indices are calculated for all the studied compounds (1-20) and are in the ranges of 750.38-1079.24 for 1-10 and 905.23-1190.25 for 11-20.     

A method for the structural determination of cannabichromene metabolites by mass spectrometry

Ready identification of hydroxy metabolites of cannabichromene (CBC) by mass spectrometry of their trimethylsilyl derivatives is prevented by the dominant fragmentation to give a substituted chromenyl ion; this suppresses ions diagnostic of the position of metabolic hydroxylation. To overcome this difficulty, metabolites were hydrogenated over a rhodium/alumina catalyst to reduce the double bond responsible for chromenyl ion formation and to redirect the fragmentation to the site of metabolic attack. This resulted in the production of abundant diagnostic fragment ions enabling all monohydroxy-CBCs to be readily identified.     

Electrochemistry of podophyllotoxin derivatives: Part II. Oxidation of teniposide and some epipodophyllotoxin derivatives

Oxidation of the anions of teniposide (I) and its aglycone (III) occurs over the pH range from 3 to 12 in two one-electron waves. The loss of the first electron yields a radical, the second a phenoxenium ion. The latter is converted by nucleophilic attack involving hydroxide ions into an ortho-quinone. In the cis-hydroxy acids derived from teniposide (IIa) and etoposide (IIb), the oxidation occurs at pH < 9.5 in a single two-electron step. This difference in behaviour is attributed to a facilitated oxidation of the radical formed in the first electron transfer of the open chain compounds. The primary products of the two-electron oxidation of the hydroxy acids IIa and IIb undergo chemical transformations which do not involve the formation of an ortho-quinone. The difference in reactivity of the product of the one-electron oxidation between the lactones (I, III) and the corresponding hydroxy acids (IIa, IIb) results in the two-electron oxidation of hydroxy acids in the physiological pH range, and in the formation of a relatively stable radical in solutions of the lactones. The absence of a stable radical as well as the impossibility of an ortho-quinone in solutions of the hydroxy acids may be responsible for the smaller antineoplastic activities of these open chain compounds when compared to the corresponding lactones.     

Trimethylsilyl transfer during electron ionization mass spectral fragmentation of some omega-hydroxycarboxylic and omega-dicarboxylic acid trimethylsilyl derivatives and the effect of chain length

The electron ionization (EI) mass spectral fragmentation of omega-hydroxycarboxylic and omega-dicarboxylic acid trimethylsilyl derivatives was investigated. The mass spectra of these compounds exhibited fragment ions resulting from classical fragmentation of the trimethylsilyl ether and ester groups, and others resulting from the interactions between the two functionalities (m/z 147, 204, 217, [M-31](+) and [M-105](+) in the case of omega-hydroxycarboxylic acid derivatives and m/z 147, 204, 217 and [M-131](+) in the case of omega-dicarboxylic acid derivatives). Several fragmentation pathways were proposed to explain the formation of these different fragment ions. It is proposed that the ions at m/z 204 and 217 are formed via an initial trimethylsilyl transfer between the ether and the ester group or between the two ester groups. This transfer appeared to be more favoured in the case of omega-dicarboxylic acid derivatives and to be dependent on the chain length. A more efficient transfer was in fact observed for compounds with a relatively long alkyl chain. In the case of shorter omega-hydroxycarboxylic and omega-dicarboxylic acid trimethylsilyl derivatives the formation of the ions at m/z 204 and 217 suffers strongly from competition from production of the ion at m/z 147.     

Perfluoroalkyl ketones: novel derivatization products for the sensitive determination of fatty acids by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in electron impact and negative chemical ionization modes

Analytically useful pentafluoro ketone derivatives of fatty acids are described. The gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric characteristics of these new derivatives are compared with those of methyl, trimethylsilyl and pentafluorobenzyl esters. Pentafluoro ketones exhibit excellent chromatographic properties and significantly shorter chromatographic retention times than these other esters. The electron impact mass spectra of these new compounds show informative acylium ions, whose intensity decreases with the degree of unsaturation of the parent fatty acid. The formation of strong and informative fragment ions in negative chemical ionization (CH(4)) mass spectra of pentafluoro ketone derivatives allows the detection and the characterization (length of the chain and number of double bonds) of fatty acids at trace levels (femtomole), even in the case of polyunsaturated compounds. The scope and limitations of this new derivatization technique are also discussed.     

Gas-phase ion-molecule reaction of alpha-phenylvinyl cation towards substituted benzenes in the environment of an ITMS

Ion-molecule reactions between the α-phenylvinyl cation (α-PVC) and mono-substituted benzenes have been investigated using a quadrople ion-trap mass spectrometer. The α-PVC, generated by chemical ionization from phenylacetilene, was found to react selectively with mono-substituted benzenes bearing electron withdrawing groups to give the product ions [M + 103](+) and the trans-vinylating product ions [M + 25](+). To characterize the reaction products, a combination of collision-induced dissociation, isotope-labeling experiments and model compounds were used. The results indicate, in addition to direct heteroatom alkylation, high extent of ortho attack. We attributed the positional selectivity of the α-PVC to the nature of the substituent on the neutral molecule. In particular, hydroxy and amino groups promoted the alkenylation at ortho position.     

Effect of the "supersilyl" group on the reactivities of allylsilanes and silyl enol ethers

Kinetics of the reactions of allylsilanes (1) and silyl enol ethers (2) with benzhydrylium ions (3) were studied by UV-vis spectroscopy in dichloromethane at 20 °C. The less than three times higher reaction rates of the tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl compounds in comparison to the corresponding trimethylsilyl compounds indicate that the previously reported strong electron-donating effect of the supersilyl group operates only in the α-position and not in the β-position.     

Electron ionisation induced fragmentation of ethyl 5(1H)-oxo- and 7(1H)-oxo-1-aryl-2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-a]-pyrimidine-6-carboxylates: evidence for an unusually regioselective rearrangement of M(+*) ions.

The 70-eV electron ionisation (EI) mass spectra of the title compounds show clear differences between the 5-oxo and 7-oxo isomers due to regioselective fragmentations involving the ester function. Exceptionally abundant metastable peaks due to molecular ions fragmenting to [M -CO2](+.) were observed exclusively for the 7-oxo isomers, suggesting that the sufficiently long-lived molecular ions undergo a slow rearrangement preceding this fragmentation reaction. The results are contrasted to the available literature data on the ester group fragmentations involving the loss of CO2 and the EI mass spectrometry of pyrimidone beta-oxo esters. A reaction mechanism is proposed for the elimination of CO2 following ethyl group migration to the pyrimidone carbonyl oxygen.     

Preparation of N-protected allylic amines and α-methylene-β-amino acids from vinylalumination/Baylis-Hillman products via tandem SN2′ substitution-Overman rearrangement

S_N2′ reaction on the acetates obtained from vinylalumination or Baylis-Hillman products, followed by in situ reduction afforded allylic alcohols. Upon conversion to trichloroacetimidates and [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, the corresponding N-protected β-substituted allylic amines were obtained in good yields. Utilization of hydroxy group as the nucleophile furnished allylic hydroxy esters, which were converted to protected α-methylene-β-amino acids via Overman rearrangement.     

Mass spectral study of alkali-cationized Boc-carbo-beta3-peptides by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was used to study the dissociation reactions of [M+Cat]+ (Cat = Na+ and Li+) of Boc-carbo-beta3-peptides. The collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra of [M+Cat-Boc]+ of these peptides are found to be significantly different from those of [M+H-Boc]+ ions. The spectra are more informative and display both C- and N-terminus metallated ions in addition to characteristic fragment ions of the carbohydrate moiety. Based on the fragmentations observed in the CID spectra of the [M+Cat-Boc]+ ions, it is suggested that the dissociation involves complexes in which the metal ion is coordinated in a multidentate arrangement involving the carbonyl oxygen atoms. The CID spectra of [M+Cat-Boc]+ ions of the peptide acids show an abundant N-terminal rearrangement ion [b(n)+17+Cat]+ which is absent for esters. Further, two pairs of positionally isomeric Boc-carbo-beta3-peptide acids, Boc-NH-Caa(S)-beta-hGly-OH (11) and Boc-NH-beta-hGly-Caa(S)-OH (12), and [Boc-NH-Caa(S)-beta-hGly-Caa(S)-beta-hGly-OH] (13) and [Boc-NH-beta-hGly-Caa(S)-beta-hGly-Caa(S)-OH] (14), were differentiated by the CID of [M+Cat-Boc]+ ions. The CID spectra of compounds 11 and 13 are significantly different from those of 12 and 14, respectively. The abundance of [b(n)+17+Cat]+ ions is higher for peptide acids 12 and 14 with a sugar group at the C-terminus when compared to 11 and 13 which contain a sugar moiety at the N-terminus. The observed differences between the CID spectra of these isomeric peptides are attributed to the difference in the preferential site of metal ion binding and also on the structure of the cyclic intermediate involved in the formation of the rearrangement ion.     

Rearrangements in the mass spectra of α-phenylcinnamic acid and its derivatives

The electron impact ionization and collisional activation mass spectra of α-phenylcinnamic acid and its derivatives have been studied. The loss of a phenylic hydrogen is not an important process in these molecules, unlike the unsubstituted cinnamic acids. However, in o-chloro-α-phenylcinnamic acid and its methyl and trimethylsilyl derivatives loss of Cl resulting in the formation of 2-substituted-3-phenylbenzopyrilium ion is an important fragmentation pathway. The rearrangement ions observed at m/z 118 and 107 in the Spectrum of α-phenylcinnamic acid have been found to have the structures of the M⁺˙ of benzofuran and PhCH?$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm +} $H, respectively. The ion at m/z 121 in the spectrum of the methyl ester of α-phenylcinnamic acid has been found to have the structure PhCH?$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm +} $Me.     

Negative electrospray ionization low-energy tandem mass spectrometry of hydroxylated fatty acids: a mechanistic study

Recently, we reported that by converting olefinic fatty acids to their saturated vicinally 1,2-di-hydroxylated derivatives, abundant ions indicative for hydroxyl group locations are produced by negative electrospray ionization low-energy tandem mass spectrometry, allowing the assignment of the olefinic site in the native fatty acid. In this report the mechanisms whereby the characteristic ions are produced are investigated. The mono-hydroxylated fatty acid, 12-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid, served as a model for the more complex 12,13-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acid, and fragmentation mechanisms accounting for the most abundant product ions generated from their deprotonated molecules are proposed. In general, three different mechanisms are proposed to operate in the formation of the observed product ions: (i) step-wise charge-remote homolytic cleavages, (ii) step-wise charge-proximate homolytic cleavages, and (iii) concerted charge-directed rearrangement reactions involving bond formation(s) and heterolytic cleavages. Support for the proposed mechanisms was achieved by investigating the deuterium- and oxygen-18-labeled isotopomers of both compounds.     

Method of synthesis of phosphinic acids based on hypophosphites: VIII. Synthesis of α-aminoalkylphenethylphosphinic acids

Development of methodology of double Arbuzov rearrangement based on hypophosphites allows a one-pot formation of two unsymmetrical phosphorus-carbon bonds by the Michael-Pudovik type reaction of stepwise addition of the intermediately forming silyl esters of trivalent phosphorus to different unsaturated compounds. A procedure was developed of the synthesis of α-aminoalkylphenethylphosphinic acids. Bis-(trimethylsilyl)phenethylphosphonite formed as a result of the addition of bis(trimethylsilyl)hypophosphite to styrene in situ was added without isolation from the reaction mixture to Schiff bases obtained preliminary from benzylamine or diphenylmethylamine and various aldehydes. The subsequent removal of N-protecting groups by hydrogenation or acidic hydrolysis gave a number of new α-aminoalkylphenethylphosphinic acids.