Structural analysis of rapamycin and related compounds using [M + Li]+ ions generated by liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry

Cationization of the macrocyclic immunosuppressant rapamycin with lithium ion upon liquid secondary ion mass spectrometric ionization yields a number of fragment ions, which are observable in the full-scan spectrum. These are clearly assigned using B/E linked scanning (fragment ion scanning), B²/E linked scanning (precursor ion scanning) and peak matching for accurate mass measurement. Many of the fragments are produced by processes that open the macrocyclic ring, and it is possible to observe several different pieces of the molecule as fragment ions. The diversity of fragments produced facilitates the elucidation of new rapamycin-like structures through mass spectrometry. Three structurally modified rapamycin analogues have been examined by this technique, and the modifications to the molecule may be located based on the nominal masses of their fragments.     

Structural analysis of secondary ions by post-source decay in time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

Tandem mass spectrometry measurements have been achieved using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) and a post source decay (PSD)-like method. The performance of the method has been demonstrated on model molecules with well-known fragmentation pathways. Several lipids have been fragmented including the phosphocholine ion, phosphatidylcholines, cholesterol and vitamin E. Pure samples were analyzed, and the results compared with those obtained with the same compounds on a quadrupole-TOF hybrid mass spectrometer. Then, the structures of some lipids which are currently observed in the TOF-SIMS imaging of mammalian tissue sections were verified.     

Investigation of the formation of M 2 + -molecular ions in sputtering processes

The formation process of M₂⁺ molecular ions sputtered from elementary target materials is investigated. In a previous article it was shown that these molecules can be used to quantitate major elements [1]. The quantitation method was based on the assumption that the M₂⁺ molecular ions are formed by the atomic combination of independently sputtered M and M ⁺ particles above the surface. In this paper this assumption will be investigated using a Monte Carlo model to simulate the formation mechanism. The model is used to calculate the velocity distribution of the M₂⁺ dimers sputtered from three different elementary target materials (Fe, Ge, and Ni). The results are compared with experimental data. Good agreement exists between theory and experiment that supports the Monte Carlo model and hence also the assumed formation mechanism.     

Determination of rare earth elements in Yttrium oxide by secondary ion mass spectrometry

Summary Rare earth elements (REEs) in yttrium oxide were determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with high sensitivity. The calibration graph approach was employed with chemically prepared standards. Molecular ion interferences derived from the matrix components which limit the superior sensitivity of SIMS were successfully suppressed by an energy filtering technique. The detection limits of the elements ranged from 0.02 to 0.2 g·g^-1.     

Prediction of secondary ion currents for trace elements in gallium arsenide in secondary ion mass spectrometry

A direct estimate of dopant concentrations in GaAs can be obtained from secondary ion mass spectrometry through the use of one fitting parameter. Knowledge of this parameter also permits a priori predictions of secondary ion currents.     

Semiquantitative analyses by secondary ion mass spectrometry using one fitting parameter

Summary A procedure for SIMS semiquantitative analysis, based on the use of one fitting-parameter, has been applied to metal and mineral standards with satisfactory results. Values of this parameter for various matrices are given, and prospects for analyses involving no reference elements are discussed. Analytical accuracies obtainable for individual elements are assessed in terms of matrix-independent error factors.

---

Zusammenfassung Eine Methode zur semiquantitativen SIMS-Analyse, die im Gegensatz zu den aus der Literatur bekannten Verfahren nur einen Anpassungsparameter benötigt, wurde mit gutem Erfolg an Metall- und Mineralstandards getestet. Werte des Anpassungsparameters für verschiedene Matrices wurden angegeben und Aussichten für eine Weiterentwicklung dieser Methode in Richtung auf standardfreie Analysen wurden besprochen. Die analytische Richtigkeit für einige Elemente wurde mit Hilfe von matrixunabhängigen Fehlerfaktoren abgeschätzt.

---

---

Presented at the International Symposium on Microchemical Techniques 1977, Davos, May 1977.     

Quantitative analysis by thin-layer chromatography with secondary ion mass spectrometry

Summary A direct combination of thin-layer chromatography with secondary ion mass spectrometry (TLC/SIMS) provides a method for the quantitative analysis of thermally unstable compounds or compounds of low volatility such as nicergoline. The method is very simple and has excellent precision. The analysis was performed by using an aluminium TLC plate and a mixture of methylene chloride, acetone, and distilled water as a developing solvent. After development the portion of the plate with the nicergoline and the internal standard spots was cut off the TLC plate, and was attached to the SIMS holder directly. The amount of nicergoline was determined from the ratio of the fragment ion intensity of the nicergoline to the internal standard. The calibration curve was linear, and the detection limit was 10 ng at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5. This method should be considered for application to the determination of drugs in biological samples and also for the determination of possible impurities and decomposition products in drugs.     

Depth profile measurement by secondary ion mass spectrometry

The possibilities of measuring depth profiles by secondary ion mass spectrometry are evaluated. The influence of different instrumental and experimental parameters on depth resolution in the profiles are studied: the effects of primary ion beam characteristics, reactive gas adsorption and mechanical aperturing in secondary ion extraction are discussed. Beam effects are studied from the point of view of surface damage. The effects of secondary processes, such as crater edge effects, element mixing, preferential sputtering, background signals, (residual) gas contamination and ion-induced topographical and compositional changes are studied for thin metal and binary materials.     

Ion yield improvement for static secondary ion mass spectrometry by use of polyatomic primary ions

Static secondary ion mass spectrometry (S-SIMS) is one of the potentially most powerful and versatile tools for the analysis of surface components at the monolayer level. Current improvements in detection limit (LOD) and molecular specificity rely on the optimisation of the desorption-ionisation (DI) process. As an alternative to monoatomic projectiles, polyatomic primary ion (P.I.) bombardment increases ion yields non-linearly. Common P.I. sources are Ga+ (liquid metal ion gun (LMIG), SF5+ (electron ionisation) and the newer Au(n)+, Bi(n)q+ (both LMIG) and C60+ (electron ionisation) sources. In this study the ion yield improvement obtained by using the newly developed ion sources is assessed. Two dyes (zwitterionic and/or thermolabile polar functionalities on a largely conjugated backbone) were analysed as a thin layer using Ga+, SF5+, C60+, Bi+, Bi3(2+) and Bi5(2+) projectiles under static conditions. The study aims at evaluating the improvement in LOD, useful and characteristic yield and molecular specificity. The corrected total ion count values for the different P.I. sources are compared for different instruments to obtain a rough estimate of the improvements. Furthermore, tentative ionisation and fragmentation schemes are provided to describe the generation of radical and adduct ions. Characteristic ion yields are discussed for the different P.I. sources. An overview of the general appearances of the mass spectra obtained with the different P.I. sources is given to stress the major improvement provided by polyatomic P.I.s in yielding information at higher m/z values.     

Structural characterization of reactive dyes using liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry/tandem mass spectrometry

Reactive Blue 19 (RB 19), its reactive form (RB 19-VS) and its hydrolyzed form (RB 19-OH) were examined using liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry/tandem mass spectrometry (LSIMS/MS/MS) in the negative-ion mode under low-energy collision conditions (240–300 eV). Structurally characteristic fragment ions were obtained, none of which has been previously reported for these reactive dyes. Among the ions obtained were SO₃^? ions, ions due to central amino cleavage and reactive group cleavage, and ions due to loss of SO₃ and SO₂. Possible pathways for the formation of product ions are proposed. The structural information obtained should help to characterize and identify reactive dyes better.     

Multielement ultratrace analysis in tungsten using secondary ion mass spectrometry

Summary The ever increasing demands on properties of materials creates a trend also towards ultrapure products. Characterization of these materials is only possible with modern, highly sophisticated analytical techniques such as activation analysis and mass spectrometry, particularly SSMS, SIMS and GDMS [1].Analytical strategies were developed for the determination of about 40 elements in a tungsten matrix with high-performance SIMS. Difficulties like the elimination of interferences had to be overcome. Extrapolated detection limits were established in the range of pg/g (alkali metals, halides) to ng/g (e. g., Ta, Th).Depth profiling and ion imaging gave additional information about the lateral and the depth distribution of the elements.

---

Multielementepurenanalyse in Wolfram mittels SIMS

     

Cluster ions in the secondary ion mass spectrometry of choline and acetylcholine halides

Liquid secondary ion mass spectra of choline and acetylcholine halides exhibit several series of cluster ions whose origins were investigated using B/E and B²/E linked-scan techniques. In the case of choline halides three series of cluster ions were identified as (Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OH + nM), (Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OMe + nM) and (Me₃N$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OH · Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂O^? + nM), while (CH₃COOCH₂CH₂$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $Me₃ + nM), (Me₃$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $CH₂CH₂OH + nM) and (CH₂ = CH$ \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + $Me₃ + nM) were observed in the spectra of acetylcholine halides. For these cluster ions, bimolecular reactions induced on ion bombardment under secondary ion mass spectrometric conditions are discussed.     

Analysis of bone minerals by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry: a comparative study using monoatomic and cluster ions sources

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) is an important tool for the analysis of bone minerals at implant surfaces. Most studies have been performed with monoatomic primary ion sources such as Ga(+) with poor secondary molecular ion production efficiency and only elemental distributions and minor fragments of bone minerals have been reported. By using cluster ion sources, such as Au(1-3) (+) and Bi(1-3) (+), identification of larger hydroxyapatite species at m/z 485, 541, 597 and 653, identified as Ca(5)P(3)O(12), Ca(6)P(3)O(13), Ca(7)P(3)O(14) and Ca(8)P(3)O(15), respectively, became possible. The ions appear to be fragments of the hydroxyapatite unit cell Ca(10)(PO(4))(6)(OH)(2). Each ion in the series is separated by 55.9 m/z units, corresponding to CaO, and this separation might reflect the columnar nature of the unit cell.     

Probing interaction of melittin with lipid membranes using liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry

Ｔｈｅｐｒｏｃｅｓｓｏｆｍｅｍｂｒａｎｅｉｎｓｅｒｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅｔｏｘｉｃｐｒｏｔｅｉｎｃａｎｂｅｄｉｖｉｄｅｄｉｎｔｏｔｗｏｓｔｅｐｓ:ａｂｓｏｒｐｔｉｏｎａｎｄｉｎｓｅｒｔｉｏｎ.Ｔｈｅｐｒｏｔｅｉｎｍｏｌｅｃｕｌｅｓｆｉｒｓｔｉｎｔｅｒａｃｔｗｉｔｈｔｈｅｍｅｍｂｒａｎｅｓｕｒｆａｃｅａｎｄｂｅｃｏｍｅａｄｓｏｒｂｅｄｏｎｔｏｔｈｅｍｅｍｂｒａｎｅｔｈｒｏｕｇｈｓｔａｔｉｃｅｌｅｃｔｒｉｃｉｔｙ.Ｔｈｅｃｏｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅｔｏｘｉｃｐｒｏｔｅｉｎｗｉｌｌｃｈａｎｇｅｕｎｄｅ…     

Protein denaturation detected by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

In the present work we investigate the denaturation of a functional protein, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), under various experimental conditions using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. HRP was immobilized on TiO(2), and the samples were stored under different conditions. The activity of the enzyme was assessed colorimetrically and compared to ToF-SIMS spectra. We show that denaturation of the protein can be monitored using the ToF-SIMS signal of the disulfide bonds, which is related to the tertiary structure of the protein. As disulfide bonds appear in a vast range of proteins, the present findings may be of wide significance; i.e., a tool is provided that can allow the investigation of the presence of an active protein structure by a comparably simple surface analytical method.     

Structural characterization of sulfonated azo dyes using liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry/tandem mass spectrometry

Eight monosulfonated and disulfonated azo dyes were analyzed using liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry/tandem mass spectrometry, in the negative ion mode, under low-energy collision conditions (110–150 eV). Many structurally characteristic fragment ions were obtained, several of which have not been reported previously using other mass spectrometric techniques. Among the structurally important ions observed were those due to loss of SO₂, SO₃ and various aromatic substituents, such as NO₂ and NHCOCH₃. Losses of N₂ were also proposed. In addition, product ions due to cleavage at the azo linkage were observed, and also SO₃^? and HSO₃^? ions. Several of the azo cleavage product ions detected did not contain sulfonate groups. Possible pathways for the formation of product ions are proposed. The structural information obtained should help to better characterize and identify sulfonated azo dyes in the future.     

Observation of doubly charged mercury cluster ions Hg n 2+, n=1-10 using secondary ion mass spectrometry

Mass spectra of doubly charged mercury clusters (m/z=30-1065) were investigated by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Positively charged ions were generated from an amalgam of mercury and silver by bombardment with a xenon ion beam and mass analysis by a grand-scale sector type mass spectrometer. Hg _n ²⁺, n=1-10 and Hg _n +, n =1- 5 were observed. Some doubly charged mercury clusters, (Hg _n ²⁺) survived at least for 0.1 ms.     

Characterization of high explosive particles using cluster secondary ion mass spectrometry

The use of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for the detection and spatially resolved analysis of individual high explosive particles is described. A C(8) (-) carbon cluster primary ion beam was used in a commercial SIMS instrument to analyze samples of high explosives dispersed as particles on silicon substrates. In comparison with monatomic primary ion bombardment, the carbon cluster primary ion beam was found to greatly enhance characteristic secondary ion signals from the explosive compounds while causing minimal beam-induced degradation. The resistance of these compounds to degradation under ion bombardment allows explosive particles to be analyzed under high primary ion dose bombardment (dynamic SIMS) conditions, facilitating the rapid acquisition of spatially resolved molecular information. The use of cluster SIMS combined with computer control of the sample stage position allows for the automated identification and counting of explosive particle distributions on silicon surfaces. This will be useful for characterizing the efficiency of transfer of particulates in trace explosive detection portal collectors and/or swipes utilized for ion mobility spectrometry applications.