Analysis of caged xanthones from the resin of Garcinia hanburyi using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

On-line ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF-MS/MS/MS) has been developed for the analysis of a series of caged xanthones in the resin of Garcinia hanburyi. The fragmentation of protonated molecular ions for 12 known cadged xanthones was carried out using low-energy collision-induced electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. It was found that Retro-Diels-Alder rearrangement occurred in the CID processes and produced the characteristic fragment ions, which are especially valuable for the identification of this class of xanthones. The fragmentation differential between some cis-, trans-isomers was uncovered. Computation methods were utilized to rationalize the observed MS behaviors. On-line UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS/MS method has proved to be rapid and efficient in that within 6min, 15 caged scaffold xanthones, including three pairs of epimers and four pairs of isomers in gamboges, were effectively separated and identified. Among them, two known, namely isogambogenin (13) and isomorellinol (14) and one likely new caged Garcinia xanthones from the Garcinia hanburyi were tentatively characterized based on the tandem mass spectra of known ones.     

山竹果皮中两种杂氧蒽酮化学成分的分析研究

建立了山竹果皮中杂氧蒽酮类化合物的快速提取、分离、鉴定方法。以无水乙醇为夹带剂,应用超临界萃取技术对山竹果皮中的杂氧蒽酮类活性化合物进行提取,快速制备色谱装置Isolera One对粗提物进行分离,得到2种杂氧蒽酮化合物,经质谱鉴定其为α-倒捻子素(α-Mangostin)和Gartanin,两者经高效液相色谱检测纯度均不低于90%,并辅以电喷雾多级串联质谱对两种化合物的碎裂规律进行了研究。     

Structural characterization of isoprenylated flavonoids from Kushen by electrospray ionization multistage tandem mass spectrometry

Eighteen isoprenylated flavonoids (8 flavanones, 3 flavanols, and 7 chalcones) isolated from Kushen or synthesized were studied by positive and negative ion electrospray ionization multistage tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)). Plausible fragmentation patterns were obtained by comparing their MS(n) spectra with each other, which were further supported by high-resolution MS data and two model compounds. It was shown that the 2'-OH group would make the C-ring of flavonoids studied more labile through a six-membered mechanism, resulting in base peaks of (1,3)A+ (positive mode) and (1,4)A(-) (negative mode). In addition, the 2'-OH is also responsible for the neutral loss of water in (+)ESI/MS(2) of flavanones. The neutral loss of water (or methanol) in (-)ESI/MS(2) of flavanols was elucidated by a E2 elimination mechanism. Different relative abundances (RA) of (1,3)A(+) and S(+) in (+)ESI/MS(2) spectra were used to discriminate flavanones with their open-ring products, chalcones, since the equilibrium for flavanone<-->chalcone isomerization in ESI ion source could not be obtained in positive mode.     

Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the characterization of twenty-three flavonoids in the extract of Dalbergia odorifera

A method incorporating high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry, with parallel analysis by HPLC with UV detection using a diode-array detector, was developed for the qualitative characterization of flavonoids in D. odorifera. Twenty-three flavonoids, including six isoflavones, six neoflavones, four isoflavanones, three flavanones, two chalcones, one isoflavanonol and one pterocarpan, were unambiguously identified by comparing their retention times, UV and MS spectra with those of authentic compounds. Furthermore, the collision-induced dissociations of the [M-H]- ions were studied to clarify the MS behavior of the different types of flavonoids. In negative ion ESI-MS all the flavonoids yielded prominent [M-H]- ions in the first order mass spectra. Fragments involving losses of CH3*, H2O, CO, C2H2O, and CO2 were observed in the MS/MS spectra. Each of the seven types of flavonoid showed characteristic MS/MS fragmentation patterns. The isoflavanones, flavanones and chalcones were observed to undergo retro-Diels-Alder fragmentations. The spectra of almost all the neoflavonoids unexpectedly exhibited only [M-H-CH3]-* radical anions as base peaks without any further fragmentation. Substitution positions also remarkably influenced the fragmentation behavior, which could assist in distinction among the flavonoid isomers. The fragmentation rules deduced here could aid in the characterization of other flavonoids of these types.     

Characterization of polyprenylated xanthones in Garcinia xipshuanbannaensis using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

A reliable and sensitive on-line high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF-MS/MS/MS) method has been optimized and established for the analysis of polyprenylated xanthones in the plant Garcinia xipshuanbannaensis. Collision induced MS/MS techniques were used to fragment the precursor molecular ions and MS/MS/MS techniques based on cone voltage fragmentation were used to further break down the resulting product ions sequentially. It was found that Retro-Diels-Alder rearrangement occurred from the xanthone skeleton in the MS/MS/MS process and produced characteristic fragment ions, which are useful for differentiating some positional isomers containing the prenyl unit on the A ring or B ring. Complementary fragmentation information, for instance the successive loss of prenyl residues, is also valuable for the identification of this class of xanthones. Under optimized HPLC-MS/MS/MS method, a total of 15 prenylated xanthones could be separated within 10min. This method also provided information about the molecular formula of a precursor molecule and its fragments, which could be used for dereplication of known or likely new prenylated xanthones in Garcinia plants before the purification and structural elucidation process.     

Methane chemical ionization mass spectrometry of flavonoids

The chemical ionization mass spectra of a representative selection of flavones, flavonols, flavanones, and flavanols have been examined, using methane as the reagent gas. The flavones and flavonols showed no significant fragmentation under the conditions employed, but the flavanones and flavanols showed characteristic fragmentation which could be of use in structural elucidation of these compounds.     

Studies on morphine alkaloids—IX. The mass spectra of indolinocodeine and its derivatives

The mass spectra of indolinocodeine and its derivatives have been determined. Some of the fragmentation pathways are discussed on the basis of high-resolution mass spectrometry and deuterium labelling. Although basic fragmentation patterns for this series of compounds are similar to each other, the substituents in B- and/or C-ring were found to determine the course of the fragmentation.     

In-source fragmentation of partially oxidized mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography

Partially oxidized derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known to be important environmental pollutants. For the identification of these substances in complex mixtures, e.g. atmospheric aerosol samples, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (LC/APCI-MS) has been found to be a suitable analytical technique. In this study 31 derivatives of mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with up to five condensed aromatic rings carrying different functional groups (carboxyl, dicarboxylic anhydride, lactone, hydroxyl, and carbonyl) were characterized by LC/APCI-MS. Each substance was measured in positive and negative ion detection mode at four different fragmentor voltages (90 to 190 V). For the first time, the results show that characteristic and well-interpretable fragmentation patterns can be obtained for these classes of compounds by in-source collision-induced dissociation in a single quadrupole LC/APCI-MS system. For each class of compounds typical spectral features and optimum measurement conditions are reported, and fragmentation pathways are proposed. The study demonstrates the applicability of LC/APCI-MS for the determination of most of the investigated compounds at trace levels, and it provides a database for the identification of unknown partially oxidized aromatic hydrocarbons. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metabolomic Analysis of the Lichen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Everniopsis trulla</Emphasis> Using Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-OT-MS)

A new depside was identified in the methanolic extract from the lichen Everniopsis trulla based on the metabolomics UHPLC–DAD–MS analysis and HESI–MS–MS fragmentation patterns along with thirty-two known compounds for the first time. The compounds were structurally characterized by UV and high resolution quadrupole orbitrap mass spectra and by comparison with literature. According to the characteristic fragmentation patterns, the presence of two simple aromatic compounds, six lipid derivatives, eight depsidones, thirteen depsides, a chromone, two diphenylethers, and a dibenzofuran were identified. To our knowledge, this is the first study of the lichen E. trulla by liquid chromatography hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry.     

Studies in organic mass spectrometry—XII: Mass spectra of chalcones and flavanones. The isomerisation of 2′-hydroxy-chalcone and flavanone

The mass spectra of isomeric 2′-hydroxy-chalcones and flavanones (i.e. 2-phenyl-chroman-4-ones) are essentially identical. Thermal isomerisation prior to ionisation was ruled out. A study of metastable transitions (first and second field free region of a double focusing instrument), as well as low energy spectra of both isomers, pointed towards completely identical fragmentation pathways for the two compounds. Five deuterated compounds were then investigated. The heats of formation of the most important ions were determined. It was concluded that an intramolecular equilibrium exists between a chalcone type and a flavanone type molecular ion.     

Rapid analysis of flavonoids based on spectral library development in positive ionization mode using LC-HR-ESI-MS/MS

Natural product screening in plants has always been a difficult task due to the complex nature of the plant material and diverse structures of the compounds present in them. Flavonoids are important and diverse class of plant secondary metabolites with numerous medicinal activities. The present study focuses on the development of a high-resolution tandem mass spectral library for the rapid and authentic identification of common flavonoids. A total of forty flavonoid standards belong to class flavones, isoflavones, flavanones, flavanols and anthocyanins were pooled into two solutions applying logP-based strategy. The flavonoids were analyzed using LC-QTOF-MS high-resolution mass spectrometer with optimization of different instrumental parameters to achieve good sensitivity. The library was built by incorporating names, molecular formulae, exact masses, and MS, and MS/MS spectra of analyzed flavonoids using Bruker Library Editor tool. The fragmentation pattern observed for the standard compounds were compared to the fragments reported in the literature. To assess the practical implications, an extract of tea sample was analyzed and screened using the developed library, which resulted in the identification of three common flavonoids based on their HR-ESI-MS/MS spectral features. The established LC-HR-MS/MS method can be used for the targeted identification of flavonoids in complex samples like food material from different botanical families.     

A library of spectral patterns as a tool for the rapid and reliable identification of highly toxic O-alkyl-S-2-(N,N-dialkylamino)ethyl alkyl thiophosphonates based on electron-ionization mass spectra

A rapid and reliable method for group identification based on the fragmentation of highly toxic O-alkyl-S-2-(N,N-dialkylamino)ethyl alkyl thiophosphonates using electron-ionization mass spectra was proposed. This method makes it possible to relate a test substance to one of the four groups of compounds containing two identical alkyl substituents at the nitrogen atom (methyl, ethyl, propyl, or isopropyl). The essence of this method is that the mass spectrum of the test substance is compared with the generalized mass-spectrometric patterns of each of the four groups of this class with the aid of a standard procedure utilized in the NIST information retrieval program.     

Identification of flame retarding organic alkali metal salt additives in polycarbonate by flow injection electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry

Three commonly used flame retarding organic alkali metal salt additives in polycarbonate, potassium diphenylsulfone sulfonate, potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate and p-toluenesulfonic acid sodium salt could be simultaneously, quickly and conveniently identified in a polycarbonate sample by utilizing electrospray ion trap mass spectroscopy detection in flow injection mode after dissolution and precipitation of the polymer. The resulting method offered advantages of speed, selectivity and precision of identification based on two stage mass spectroscopy fragmentation patterns and mass spectral library matching for the three salts tested, and is likely to be applicable to other compounds of similar class.     

A study of the electrospray ionisation and ion trap fragmentation of hemiterpenoid and dimeric coumarin derivatives

The electrospray ionisation (ESI) of selected hemiterpenoid and dimeric coumarin derivatives and their subsequent fragmentation using an ion trap mass spectrometer are reported and discussed. Sequential product ion fragmentation experiments (MS(n)) were performed in order to elucidate the degradation pathways for these compounds. The results illustrate that the observed characteristic fragmentation patterns are of considerable utility in the application of ESI mass spectrometry to the characterisation of this class of compounds.     

Characterization of lemon (Citrus limon) polar extract by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in high resolution mode

Eighty four metabolites (32 flavonoids, 15 amino acids, nine carboxylic acids, six coumarins, six sugars, five phenolic acids and 11 unclassified compounds) have been tentatively identified in a polar extract from lemon, without reference standards, based on their liquid chromatography–quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight MS/MS spectra and the comparison with databases. Despite information in databases for some families of plant compounds is poor, tentative identification based on MS/MS information (mass of the precursor ion and their fragments, together with neutral mass loss) was possible with the help of known fragmentation patterns for the given families of compounds. Both positive and negative ionization modes and at least two collision energies were always applied to obtain as much information as possible from each molecular entity, thus helping for identification. As the tentatively identified metabolites are the same regardless of the organism they belong, their fragmentation patterns are useful for identification with independence of the sample nature. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electron ionization mass spectra of some norbornane/ene-fused 2-N-phenyliminoperhydro-1,3-oxazines

The 70 eV electron ionization (EI) mass spectra were recorded for eight norbornane/ene-fused 2-N-phenyl-iminoperhydro-1,3-oxazines, and the fragmentation patterns were studied by metastable ion analysis and exact mass measurement. Whereas the stereoisomeric unsaturated compounds could not be distinguished on the basis of their EI mass spectra, the stereoisomeric saturated compounds gave rise to clearly different spectra. The ionized unsaturated compounds decomposed mainly by two consecutive retro-Diels-Alder (RDA) reactions. A methyl substituent on the ring nitrogen strongly influenced the charge distribution on the RDA fragments. The ionized saturated compounds fragmented through several pathways. Loss of cyclopentadiene from the molecular ion was the energetically favoured fragmentation reaction for the saturated di-endo-fused compounds but was unimportant for the di-exo-fused compounds.     

Atmospheric pressure ionisation mass spectrometric fragmentation pathways of noscapine and papaverine revealed by multistage mass spectrometry and in-source deuterium labelling

Two opium alkaloids, noscapine and papaverine, show good response as [M+H]+ ions in positive ion electrospray mass spectrometry and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry. The two compounds exhibit markedly different fragmentation pathways and behaviour under multistage mass spectrometry (MSn), with papaverine displaying a wealth of ions in MS2 and noscapine providing a single dominant ion at each stage of MSn prior to MS4. Elucidation of the fragmentation pathways using the MSn capability of the ion trap was aided by spraying the analytes in 2H2O to incorporate an isotopic label. Simplex optimisation allowed optimum trapping and fragmentation parameters to be determined, leading to a six-fold improvement in response for one transition and a seven-fold improvement for one transition sequence.     

Characterization of fifty-one flavonoids in a Chinese herbal prescription Longdan Xiegan Decoction by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and photodiode array detection

High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry and photodiode array detection (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n)) was developed to identify and characterize the flavonoids in a Chinese formulated preparation, Longdan Xiegan Decoction (LXD). In total, fifty-one flavonoids (27 flavones, 10 flavanones, 7 chalcones, 5 flavonols and 2 isoflavones) were characterized. Eighteen compounds among them including a newly detected flavonoid, naringin, from the ingredient herbs, were unambiguously determined by comparing the retention times (t(R)), UV spectral data and mass fragmentation behaviors with those of the reference compounds. Another thirty-three compounds were tentatively identified by referencing to the reported data of their UV and MS spectra. The ESI-MS/MS fragmentation behavior of flavones (OMe-substituted, O-glycosides, C-glycosides), chalcones, flavonols and their appropriate characteristic pathways were proposed. In negative ion ESI-MS all the flavonoids yielded prominent [M--H](-) ions in the first order mass spectra. Fragmentation with a loss of mass of 15 Da (CH(3)), 18 Da (H(2)O), 28 Da (CO), 44 Da (CO(2)), 56 Da (2CO) and the residues of glucose and glucuronic acid observed in the MS/MS spectra were useful for aiding the structural identification of the flavonoids investigated.     

Cytotoxic polyprenylated xanthones from the resin of Garcinia hanburyi

Thirteen xanthones (1-13) were isolated from the resin of Garcinia hanburyi. Among them, two new compounds (namely gaudichaudic acid, and isogambogenic acid, 1, 2), and one new natural product (deoxygaudichaudione A, 3) were identified on the basis of extensive spectral evidence including detailed 2D NMR data. Ten of these xanthones were tested for their cytotoxicities against human leukemia K562 (K562/S) and doxorubicin-resistant K562 (K562/R) cell lines, and showed similar inhibitory effects on both cell lines, suggesting that this group of polyprenylated xanthones might not be multidrug resistance (MDR) substrates.     

Electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of aminochromes.

The catecholamines adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, dopa and isoprenaline were oxidized into their respective aminochromes: adrenochrome, noradrenochrome, dopaminochrome, dopachrome and isoprenochrome. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) fragmentation patterns were examined for the five aminochromes in order to establish a general structural assignment of these oxidation products by electrospray mass spectrometry. Although protonated aminochromes undergo similar fragmentation patterns with a characteristic consecutive loss of two carbonyl groups, the presence of different substituents in the parent compounds led to significant changes in the CID spectra. This feature is more evident for isoprenochrome and dopachrome, especially for the latter where the MS/MS spectrum is dominated by the loss of formic acid. A general pattern of fragmentation for aminochromes is proposed, which should provide a suitable basis to aid their characterization in studies in vivo or in vitro.