Tandem mass spectrometry characteristics of polyester anions and cations formed by electrospray ionization

Electrospray ionization of polyesters composed of isophthalic acid and neopentyl glycol produces carboxylate anions in negative mode and mainly sodium ion adducts in positive mode. A tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) study of these ions in a quadrupole ion trap shows that the collisionally activated dissociation pathways of the anions are simpler than those of the corresponding cations. Charge-remote fragmentations predominate in both cases, but the spectra obtained in negative mode are devoid of the complicating cation exchange observed in positive mode. MS/MS of the Na(+) adducts gives rise to a greater number of fragments but not necessarily more structural information. In either positive or negative mode, polyester oligomers with different end groups fragment by similar mechanisms. The observed fragments are consistent with rearrangements initiated by the end groups. Single-stage ESI mass spectra also are more complex in positive mode because of extensive H/Na substitutions; this is also true for matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectra. Hence, formation and analysis of anions might be the method of choice for determining block length, end group structure and copolymer sequence, provided the polyester contains at least one carboxylic acid end group that is ionizable to anions.     

On-line size-exclusion chromatography/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry of aquatic humic and fulvic acids

Isolated aquatic humic and fulvic acids were analysed with on-line size exclusion chromatography/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (SEC/ESI-MS). An eluent composition which enabled electrospray ionisation was identified. The SEC separation improved interpretability of mass spectra and may open up new possibilities for molecular weight determination of humic substances. A linear dose-response relationship over a factor of 20 was obtained and the limit of detection was 50ng/uL for humic and fulvic acids. Spectral changes due to different ionisation conditions (pH and cone voltage) were investigated. A natural water sample from a Swedish lake was analysed. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of resveratrol-copper complexes by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and density functional theory calculations

Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound found in plants and human foods which has shown biological activities including chemoprevention, acting through a mechanism which involves the reduction of Cu(II) species. By electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry we have produced and detected the resveratrol-copper complexes [Resv+Cu](+), [Resv+Cu+H(2)O](+) and [2Resv+Cu](+) by using a resveratrol/CuSO(4) solution in CH(3)CN/H(2)O. The most stable structures of the detected complexes have been calculated at the B3LYP/6-311G(d) level of theory. Resveratrol interacts with the copper ion through nucleophilic carbon atoms on the aromatic ring and the alkenyl group. The fact that only singly charged ions were observed implies that Cu(II) is reduced to Cu(I) in the ESI process. For investigating the structure-reactivity correlation, we have carried out a similar study on the synthetic analogue dihydroresveratrol (DHResv). For the latter only the [DHResv+Cu](+) complex has been detected.     

Characterisation of humic substances using atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry combined with size-exclusion chromatography

Humic substances were analysed by atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) and electrospray ionisation (ESI) mass spectrometry in positive and negative modes. Using APCI the average m/z range of humic substances was reduced 5-fold compared to ESI. High-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry revealed the formation of multiply charged molecules in the ESI mode. Moreover, it was possible to obtain daughter ion mass spectra of humic substances by nanospray tandem mass spectrometry. The size-exclusion chromatography elution profile of humic substances was highly influenced by the pH of the analyte solution. By contrast, the pH had no significant influence on the observed mass spectra of humic substances.     

Correlation of observed and model vibrational frequencies for aqueous organic acids: UV resonance Raman spectra and molecular orbital calculations of benzoic, salicylic, and phthalic acids

The aromatic carboxylic acids benzoic, salicylic and phthalic acid were used to study the interaction of soluble organics compounds with metal cations. To accomplish this, we have developed methods for studying the carboxylic acids using UV resonance Raman (UVRR) combined with molecular orbital density functional theory calculations. The pH values of the acid solutions were based on the pK(a)'s for the different acids to examine the neutral and charged species. Deprotonation of the organic acids was detectable down to 10(-4)M using UVRR (two orders of magnitude lower than previous vibrational spectroscopy studies). Limitations to decreasing the concentration lower using the current UVRR facilities are discussed. Two methods were used to calculate the optimized geometry and frequencies of the acids: explicit and continuum solvation. The frequencies from the experimental spectra were then compared to the theoretical results obtained from the two methods.     

Isomerization and fragmentation reactions of gaseous dimethyl phenylarsane radical cations and methyl phenylarsenium cations. A study by tandem mass spectrometry and density functional theory calculations

The unimolecular reactions of the radical cation of dimethyl phenylarsane, C6H5As(CH3)2, 1*+ and of the methyl phenylarsenium cation, C6H5As+CH3, 2+, in the gas phase were investigated using deuterium labeling and methods of tandem mass spectrometry. Additionally, the rearrangement and fragmentation processes were analyzed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the level UBHLYP/6- 311+G(2d,p)//UBHLYP/5-31+G(d). The molecular ion 1*+ decomposes by loss of a .CH3 radical from the As atom without any rearrangement, in contrast to the behavior of the phenylarsane radical cation. In particular, no positional exchange of the H atoms of the CH3 group and at the phenyl ring is observed. The results of DFT calculations show that a rearrangement of 1*+ by reductive elimination of As and shift of the CH3 group is indeed obstructed by a large activation barrier. The MIKE spectrum of 2+ shows that this arsenium cation fragments by losses of H2 and AsH. The fragmentation of the trideuteromethyl derivative 2-d3+ proves that all H atoms of the neutral fragments originate specifically from the methyl ligand. Identical fragmentation behavior is observed for metastable m-tolyl arsenium cation, m-CH3C6H4As+H, 2tol+. The loss of AsH generates ions C7H7+ which requires rearrangement in 2+ and bond formation between the phenyl and methyl ligands prior to fragmentation. The DFT calculations confirm that the precursor of this fragmentation is the benzyl methylarsenium cation 2bzl+, and that 2bzl+ is also the precursor ion fo the elimination of H2. The analysis of the pathways for rearrangements of 2+ to the key intermediate 2bzl+ by DFT calculations show that the preferred route corresponds to a 1,2-H shift of a H atom from the CH3 ligand to the As atom and a shift of the phenyl group in the reverse direction. The expected rearrangement by a reductive elimination of the As atom, which is observed for the phenylarsenium cation and for halogeno phenyl arsenium cations, requires much more activation enthalpy.     

Emission mechanism of polyatomic ions Cs2Cl+ and Cs2BO2(+) in thermal ionization mass spectrometry with various carbon materials

The emission behavior of polyatomic ions Cs(2)Cl(+) and Cs(2)BO(2)(+) in the presence of various carbon materials (Graphite, Carbon, SWNTs, and Fullerenes) in the ionization source of thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) has been investigated. The emission capacity of various carbon materials are remarkably different as evidenced by the obvious discrepancy in signal intensity of polyatomic ions and accuracy/precision of boron and chlorine isotopic composition determined using Cs(2)Cl(+)-graphite-PTIMS/Cs(2)BO(2)(+)-graphite-PTIMS methods. Combined with morphology and microstructure properties of four selected carbon materials, it could be concluded that the emission behavior of the polyatomic ions strongly depends on the microstructure of the carbon materials used. A surface-induced collision mechanism for formation of such kinds of polyatomic ions in the ionization source of TIMS has been proposed based on the optimized configuration of Cs(2)BO(2)(+) and Cs(2)Cl(+) ions in the gas phase using a molecular dynamics method. The combination of the geometry of the selected carbon materials with the configuration of two polyatomic ions explains the structure effect of carbon materials on the emission behavior of polyatomic ions, where graphite samples with perfect parallels and equidistant layers ensure the capacity of emission to the maximum extent, and fullerenes worsen the emission of polyatomic ions by blocking their pathway.     

Size-dependent structures of NanI+n-1 cluster ions with a methanol adsorbate: a combined study by photodissociation spectroscopy and density-functional theory calculation

Methanol adsorption sites on NanI+n-1 ions were investigated. Photoexcitation to charge-transfer states of NanI+n-1 (methanol) predominantly produces two fragment ions: Nan-1I+n-2 (methanol) (neutral NaI loss) and Nan-1I+n-2(neutral NaI and methanol loss), without forming NanI+n-1 (methanol loss). The relative intensities of these fragments are correlated with the geometries and binding energies.     

Structures of mixed gold-silver cluster cations (Ag(m)Au(n)+, m+n<6): ion mobility measurements and density-functional calculations

The collision cross sections of Ag(m)Au(n)+ (m+n)<6 cluster ions were determined. For bimetallic clusters, we observe a significant intracluster charge transfer leaving most of the ions positive charge on the silver atoms. The mixed trimeric ions Ag2Au+ and AgAu2+ are triangular like the pure gold and silver trimers. Most of the tetrameric clusters are rhombus shaped, with the exception of Ag3Au+, which has a Y structure with the gold atom in the center. Among the pentamers we find distorted X structures for all systems. For Ag2Au3+ we find an additional isomer which is a trigonal bipyramid. These findings are in line with predictions based on density-functional theory calculations, i.e., all these structures either represent the global minima or are within less than 0.1 eV of the predicted global minimum.     

Comparison of intensities between doubly charged ions [M + 2H]2+ and singly charged ions [M + H]+ of gramicidin S by electrospray mass spectrometry.

The reason why the intensity of doubly charged ions [M + 2H]2+ of gramicidin S is higher than that of singly charged ions [M + H]+ in electrospray is investigated by ion evaporation theory. As a result of comparison between the total free energies of extracting [M + 2H]2+ and [M + H]+ from a charged droplet to infinity, it is found that the total free energy of [M + 2H]2+ is estimated to be lower than that of [M + H]+. This clearly supports the experimental result. In addition, the importance of the electrostatic contribution in electrospray is demonstrated by showing the result that the total free energy of [M + 2H]2+ without electrostatic contribution is higher than that of [M + H]+.     

Structure and dissociation characteristics of metal chloride anion clusters containing redox-active metal ions studied by laser desorption and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and ab initio calculations

Copper chloride anion clusters with both copper oxidation states can be made by laser desorption of CuCl(2) crystals. We have used this method to study the dissociation characteristics of such cluster ions. The stability and the structure of the observed complexes were probed by ab initio calculations. These calculations show that many of these complexes are bridged structures. Thus, for the Cu(2)Cl(4) dimer anion, formally [ClCu-Cl-CuCl(2)](-) , with putative mixed copper oxidation states, the two copper ions become equivalent through bridging. Such bridging does not occur when redox inactive metal ions are present as in [ClCu-Cl-CaCl(2)](-) . By observing the dissociation characteristics of a variety of metal chloride cluster anions produced from binary mixtures, the following Cl(-) affinity order is obtained: FeCl(3) > CuCl > CaCl(2) > FeCl(2) > AgCl ≈ CuCl(2) ≈ ZnCl(2) > LiCl. Ab initio calculations on the Cl(-) affinity of selected chlorides confirm this order as do Cl(-) affinity estimates from the experimentally known vertical electron detachment energies of the superhalogens CaCl(3)(-) and LiCl(2)(-) . An equimolar mixture of CuCl(2) and FeCl(3) produces an intense cluster ion, which, from (65)Cu labeling experiments, is best described as FeCl(4)(-)···Cu(+)···(-)Cl(4) Fe, a Cu(+) bound superhalogen FeCl(4)(-) dimer. The Cu(+) ion can be replaced by the redox inactive alkali cations and by Ag(+) but these metal ion bound FeCl(4)(-) dimers show an entirely different fragmentation behavior which is attributed to the absence of bridging. Electrospray ionization (ESI) of CuCl(2) produces an extended series of (CuCl(2))(n) Cl(-) anions (n = 1-11) and so in ESI very limited reduction of Cu(2+) takes place. The (CuCl(2))(n) Cl(-) anions show an abundant dissociation via loss of neutral Cu(2)Cl(4) which according to our ab initio calculations is 9 kcal/mol more stable than two CuCl(2).     

电喷雾质谱法中K^+加合离子受Cs^+影响及在牛膝多糖分子 量分布测定中的应用

以测定牛膝多糖的分子量分布为例,研究了在Cs^+存在情况下,电喷雾(ESI)/飞行时间质谱法(TOF-MS)中出现加合离子(adductions)的规律。实验中发现,牛膝多糖样品中加入适量的Cs^+,可影响其与Na^+,K^+加合离子的相对丰度,使K^+加合离子成为几乎唯一的加合离子形式,并获得了满意结果。另外讨论了Cs^+浓度、喷管电压(nozzlepotential)对这一现象的影响。     

New aspects in fragmentation of peptide nucleic acids: comparison of positive and negative ions by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

The use of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) is steadily increasing in biochemistry and diagnostics. So far, PNAs have mostly been investigated using cationic conditions in mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the use of fragmentation techniques developed for peptides and proteins like infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) and electron capture dissociation (ECD) has barely been examined. However, especially the fragmentation behavior of PNA oligomers in negative ion mode is of high importance, due to the ability to interact with nucleic acids which are almost exclusively analyzed in the negatively charged state. In the current study PNA fragmentations under cationic and anionic conditions were investigated and different fragmentation techniques like collision‐induced dissociation (CID), IRMPD and ECD were applied. Especially when using CID and IRMPD, amide bonds were broken, whereas ECD resulted in the elimination of nucleobases. Differences were also observed between positive and negative ionization, while the sequence coverage for the negative ions was superior to positive ions. The fragmentation behavior using IRMPD led to almost complete sequence coverage. Additionally, in anions the interesting effect of multiple eliminations of HNCO was found. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure of AcMet-Gly and Its Interaction with Palladium（Ⅱ） Tetraaqua Complex Studied by Electrospray Mass Spectrometry and Density Functional Theory

The structure of dipepide AcMet‐Gly was determined by X‐ray crystallographic analysis. It possesses mono‐clinic, space group P2₁ (No. 4). with cell dimensions of α=0.8571(2) nm, b=0.5871(2) nm, c= 1.197(3) nm, β= 99.290(10)°. V=0.5944(15) nm³, Z=2, μ=2.74 cm^?1. Mononuclear chelates, described as [Pd(X)(S,N,O‐AcMet‐Gly)]^?, in which Pd(II) is coordinated by thioether, deprotonated amide nitrogen, carbonyl oxygen of me‐thionine and X (AcMetGly or other ligands present in aqueous solution or in mobile phase solution), were detected 5 min after mixing AcMet‐Gly with [Pd(H₂O)₄]^2‐ at room temperature using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The geometry of [Pd(H₂O)(S,N,O‐AcMet‐Gly)]^? is optimized at density functional B3LYP/LanL2DZ level. The fused five‐ and six‐membered chelate is responsible for cleavage of Met‐Gly bond. This is the first time to provide a direct evidence for Pd(II)‐mediated cleavage of dipeptides via external solvent attack.