Substituted 3-phenylpropenoates and related analogs: electron ionization mass spectral fragmentation and density functional theory calculations

Analysis of ethyl 3-(2-chlorophenyl)propenoate by electron ionization mass spectrometry showed the distinct loss of an ortho chlorine. To characterize the structural requisites for the observed mass fragmentation, a series of 30 halogen-substituted 3-phenylpropenoate-related structures were examined. All ester-containing alkene derivatives exhibited loss of the distinctive chlorine from the 2-position of the phenyl ring. Analogous derivatives with the halogen (chlorine or bromine) in the para position did not evidence selective halogen loss. Results demonstrated that substituted 3-phenylpropenoates and their analogs fragment via the formation of a previously reported benzopyrylium intermediate. To understand the correlation between the intramolecular radical substitution and the abundance and selectivity of the chlorine (or other halogen) displacement, density functional theory calculations were performed to determine the charge on the principal cation involved in the chlorine loss (in the ortho, meta, and para positions), the charge for the neutral radical (noncation), the excess alpha-electron density on the relevant atom and the energy to form the cation from the neutral atom (ionization energy). Results showed that the selectivity and extent of halogen displacement correlated highly to the electrophilicity of the radical cation as well as the neutral radical. These data further support the proposed fragmentation mechanism involving intramolecular radical elimination.     

Explanation through density functional theory of the unanticipated loss of CO2 and differences in mass fragmentation profiles of ritonavir and its rCYP3A4‐mediated metabolites

In the present study, the metabolism of ritonavir was explored in the presence of rCYP3A4 using a well‐established strategy involving liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) tools. A total of six metabolites were formed, of which two were new, not reported earlier as CYP3A4‐mediated metabolites. During LC–MS studies, ritonavir was found to fragment through six principal pathways, many of which involved neutral loss of CO₂, as indicated through 44‐Da difference between masses of the precursors and the product ions. This was unusual as the drug and the precursors were devoid of a terminal carboxylic acid group. Apart from the neutral loss of CO₂, marked differences were also observed among the fragmentation pathways of the drug and its metabolites having intact N‐methyl moiety as compared to those lacking N‐methyl moiety. These unusual fragmentation behaviours were successfully explained through energy distribution profiles by application of the density functional theory. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamical density functional theory and its application to spinodal decomposition

We present an alternative derivation of the dynamical density functional theory for the one-body density profile of a classical fluid developed by Marconi and Tarazona [J. Chem. Phys. 110, 8032 (1999)]. Our derivation elucidates further some of the physical assumptions inherent in the theory and shows that it is not restricted to fluids composed of particles interacting solely via pair potentials; rather it applies to general, multibody interactions. The starting point for our derivation is the Smoluchowski equation and the theory is therefore one for Brownian particles and as such is applicable to colloidal fluids. In the second part of this paper we use the dynamical density functional theory to derive a theory for spinodal decomposition that is applicable at both early and intermediate times. For early stages of spinodal decomposition our nonlinear theory is equivalent to the (generalized) linear Cahn-Hilliard theory, but for later times it incorporates coupling between different Fourier components of the density fluctuations (modes) and therefore goes beyond Cahn-Hilliard theory. We describe the results of calculations for a model (Yukawa) fluid which show that the coupling leads to the growth of a second maximum in the density fluctuations, at a wave number larger than that of the main peak.     

The mass spectral fragmentation of isoxazolyldihydropyridines

The mass spectral fragmentation of 4-isoxazolyl-1,4-dihydropyridines has been examined with the aid of linked metastable scanning. Three prominent pathways involve (i) O-N bond cleavage of the isoxazole followed by the loss of R²CN, (ii) loss of carboalkoxy from the 3- and/or 5- position of the dihydropyridine and, (iii) loss of the 4-isoxazolyl-substituent.     

Using density functional theory to interpret the infrared spectra of flexible cyclic phosphazenes

The cyclic phosphazene trimer P(3)N(3)(OCH(2)CF(3))(6)and the related cyclic tetramer P(4)N(4)(OCH(2)CF(3))(8) have been synthesized, isolated and their vapor-phase absorption spectra recorded at moderate resolution using an FTIR spectrometer. The interpretation of these spectra is achieved primarily by comparison with the results of high-precision density functional calculations, which enable the principal absorption features to be assigned and conclusions to be drawn regarding the geometries and conformations adopted by both molecules. These in turn allow interesting comparisons to be made with analogous cyclic halo-phosphazenes (such as P(3)N(3)Cl(6)) and other related ring compounds. The highly flexible nature of the two cyclic phosphazenes precludes a complete theoretical study of their potential energy hypersurfaces and a novel alternative approach involving the analysis of a carefully selected subset of the possible molecular conformations has been shown to produce satisfactory results. The two cyclic phosphazene oligomers have been proposed as the major low-to-medium temperature pyrolysis products of the parent polyphosphazene (PN(OCH(2)CF(3))(2))(n), and the identification of vibrational absorption features characteristic of each molecule will enable future studies to test the validity of this proposition.     

The mass spectral fragmentation of 1,4-butanediol

The behaviour of 1,4-butanediol under electron impact at 70 and 12.5 eV has been studied with the aid of high resolution mass spectra. Based on metastable ion decompositions and deuterium labelling, mechanisms are proposed for the formation of the abundant ions of this compound.     

Can density functional theory (DFT) be used as an aid to a deeper understanding of tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation pathways?

Prediction of tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) fragmentation for non‐peptidic molecules based on structure is of immense interest to the mass spectrometrist. If a reliable approach to MS/MS prediction could be achieved its impact within the pharmaceutical industry could be immense. Many publications have stressed that the fragmentation of a molecular ion or protonated molecule is a complex process that depends on many parameters, making prediction difficult. Commercial prediction software relies on a collection of general heuristic rules of fragmentation, which involve cleaving every bond in the structure to produce a list of ‘expected’ masses which can be compared with the experimental data. These approaches do not take into account the thermodynamic or molecular orbital effects that impact on the molecule at the point of protonation which could influence the potential sites of bond cleavage based on the structural motif. A series of compounds have been studied by examining the experimentally derived high‐resolution MS/MS data and comparing it with the in silico modelling of the neutral and protonated structures. The effect that protonation at specific sites can have on the bond lengths has also been determined. We have calculated the thermodynamically most stable protonated species and have observed how that information can help predict the cleavage site for that ion. The data have shown that this use of in silico techniques could be a possible way to predict MS/MS spectra. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Field desorption mass spectral fragmentation of monosaccharide isomers

Field desorption ionization of selected monosaccharide isomers by potassium ion attachment in high fields is described. The ionization is obtained with a tungsten wire activated with carbon needles and covered with KH₂PO₄ salt. In addition to the potassium cationized molecular ions, reproducible fragmentation was obtained at 10 mA and 20 mA typical of the various monosaccharides. For instance, D-glucose tends to lose a water molecule, whereas D-fructose loses primarily methanol under similar conditions. Methanol elimination is suggested to be characteristic of furanoidal ketoses and water elimination for pyranoidal aldoses, whereas glycol elimination occurs for furanoidal aldoses.     

Semi-empirical Scf-Mo study of the mass spectral fragmentation of tetramethyldiphosphine

Structures and enthalpies of formation have been calculated, in the MNDO approximation using UHF wave-functions for open shell species, for tetramethyldiphosphine, Me₄P₂, and the major ions in its mass spectrum: Me₄P₂⁺, Me₃P₂H⁺, Me₃P₂⁺, Me₂P₂H₂⁺ (3 forms), Me₂P₂H⁺ (3 forms), Me₂P₂⁺ (3 forms), MePPCH₂⁺ (3 forms), MeP₂⁺ and MePCH₂⁺, together with all the corresponding neutral fragments. Appearance potentials are calculated for all the ions, and possible fragmentation pathways deduced.     

Using density functional theory to calculate the anomeric effect in hydroxylamine and hydrazide derivatives of tetrahydropyran

Little is known about the magnitude of the anomeric effect in N-glycosylated oxyamines and hydrazides, limiting efforts toward the design of chemoselective acceptors that impose a stereochemical preference on glycosylation reactions. Thus, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were conducted to estimate the magnitude of the anomeric effect in N,O-dimethyl-N-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)hydroxylamine (1) and N'-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)acetohydrazide (3). The results show that N,O-dimethyl-N-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)hydroxylamine (1) displays a significant anomeric effect (AE_corr = 1.38 kcal/mol) and that N'-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)acetohydrazide (3) displays a modest anomeric effect (AE_corr = 0.54 kcal/mol).     

Substituent effects in the mass spectral fragmentation of aryl esters

The mass spectra of m- and p-substituted phenyl acetates, phenyl propionates, phenyl chloroacetates and phenyl fluoroacetates have been determined. The fragmentation of aryl esters is affected by acyl substituents as well as by aryl substituents. Esters having acyl groups of low ionization potential show greater changes in fragmentation because of aryl substituents than those having acyl groups of high ionization potential. Each series has a fairly definite crossover point where fragmentation changes from predominant rearrangement to predominant cleavage.     

苯并二呋喃酮类染料及其取代物的密度泛函理论研究

采用密度泛函理论(DFT)方法,在B3LYP/6-31G*的水平上对苯并二呋喃酮类染料及其芳环6,6’-,9,9’-,10,10’-,11,11’-,12,12’-,13,13’-取代衍生物进行理论计算,讨论了CH3、OCH3、Cl、NO2在不同位置取代对分子的几何结构、电子结构和能量的影响。同时采用含时的密度泛函理论(TD-DFT)方法在相同水平下计算其电子光谱。结果表明:母体被取代后能量降低,结构变稳定;苯并二呋喃酮类染料及其芳环取代物的最低单重激发态均主要源自HOMO-LOMO(π-π*)跃迁。     

Phase-space approach to dynamical density functional theory

The authors consider a system of interacting particles subjected to Langevin inertial dynamics and derive the governing time-dependent equation for the one-body density. They show that, after suitable truncations of the Bogoliubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon hierarchy, and a multiple time scale analysis, they obtain a self-consistent equation involving only the one-body density. This study extends to arbitrary dimensions previous work on a one-dimensional fluid and highlights the subtleties of kinetic theory in the derivation of dynamical density functional theory.     

Electron ionization mass spectral fragmentation of deoxynivalenol and related tricothecenes

Careful analysis of the electron impact (EI) mass spectral data obtained for the trimethylsilyl (TMS) ethers of known trichothecene mycotoxins of the deoxynivalenol group permitted the construction of a database useful for the identification of these mycotoxins directly from a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) run. Structures of the ions at m/z 103, 117, 147 and 191 were elucidated by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and a fragmentation scheme was suggested. The relative abundances of these ions in the mass spectra of the trichothecenes allowed a fast structural diagnosis during analysis of biological matrices. A new mycotoxin of this group, 3-acetylnivalenol, was tentatively identified by using MS data interpretation only.     

A density functional study of a twisted nematic cell and its relation to the Frank-Oseen theory

The numerical results for the twist angle profile xi(z) across a slab-shaped nematic cell obtained from a density functional theory (DFT) are compared to the predictions of the macroscopic Frank-Oseen theory. The latter theory predicts that xi"(z)=0, and this is also seen to be the case for the DFT results. These do, however, verify the Frank-Oseen relation, lambda+/-W+/-=K2, between the de Gennes extrapolation length (lambda+/-), the anchoring energy per unit area of the (+/-) cell wall (W+/-), and the elastic constant of the nematic for twist deformations (K2), only if W+/- is nonlinearly related to the amplitude of the anchoring term of the DFT.     

A general approach to the screening and confirmation of tryptamines and phenethylamines by mass spectral fragmentation

Certain characteristic fragmentations of tryptamines (indoleethylamine) and phenethylamines are described. Based on the GC-EI/MS, LC-ESI/MS and MALDI/TOFMS, the mass fragmentations of 13 standard compounds, including alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-alpha-methyltryptamine (5-MeO-AMT), N,N-diethyltryptamine (DET), N,N-dipropyltryptamine (DPT), N,N-dibutyltryptamine (DBT), N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (DIPT), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), 5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT), methamphetamine (MAMP), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (3,4-MDA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (3,4-MDMA) and 2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)butane (MBDB), were compared. As a result, the parent ions of these analytes were hard to be obtained by GC/MS whereas the protonated molecular ions can be observed clearly by means of ESI/MS and MALDI/TOFMS. Furthermore, two major characteristic fragmentations, namely and alpha-cleavage ([M+H](+)-->[3-vinylindole](+)) and beta-cleavage ([M+H](+)-->[CH(2)N(+)R(N1)R(N2)]), are produced when the ESI and MALDI modes are used, respectively. In the case of ESI/MS, the fragment obtained from alpha-cleavage is the major process. In contrast to this, in the case of MALDI/TOFMS, the major fragment is produced via beta-cleavage. The ionization efficiency and fragments formed from either alpha- or beta-cleavages are closely related to the degree of alkylation of the side chain nitrogen in both cases.