Glutathione radical cation in the gas phase; generation, structure and fragmentation

Two different chemical methods have been used to form glutathione radical cations: (1) collision-induced dissociations (CIDs) of the ternary complex [Cu(II)(tpy)(M)]˙(2+) (M = GSH, tpy = 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine) and (2) homolysis of the S-NO bond in protonated S-nitrosoglutathione. The radical cations, M˙(+), were trapped and additional CIDs were performed. They gave virtually identical CID spectra, suggesting a facile interconversion between initial structures prior to fragmentation. DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level of theory have been used to study interconversion between different isomers of the glutathione radical cation and to examine mechanisms by which these ions fragment. The N-terminal α-carbon-centred radical cation, strongly stabilized by the captodative effect, is at the global minimum, which is 8.5 kcal mol(-1) lower in enthalpy than the lowest energy conformer of the S-centred radical cation. The barrier against interconversion is 18.1 kcal mol(-1) above the S-centred radical.     

Metal-mediated formation of gas-phase amino acid radical cations

The results from an investigation of the collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the ternary complexes [Cu(II)(terpy)(AA)](2+) are presented (terpy = 2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine; AA = one of the twenty common amino acids). These complexes show a rich gas-phase chemistry, which depends on the identity of the amino acid. For the histidine-, lysine- and tryptophan-containing complexes, oxidative dissociation of the amino acid is observed, yielding the amino acid radical cation. The results of further mass selection and CID of these amino acid radical cations are presented. The CID of the series [Fe(III)(salen)(AA)](+) (where salen = N,N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneaminato)) is also examined. These complexes undergo loss of the neutral amino acid in all cases, although the radical cation of arginine is also produced and its subsequent fragmentation examined. B3-LYP/6-31G(d) computations were carried out to test aspects of the proposed fragmentation mechanism of the histidine and arginine radical cations.     

Gas-phase formation of radical cations of monomers and dimers of guanosine by collision-induced dissociation of Cu(II)-guanosine complexes

An electrosprayed water/methanol solution of guanosine and Cu(NO3)2 was observed to give rise to gas-phase copper complexed ions of [CuLn]*2+, [CuL(MeOH)n]*2+, and [CuG n(NO3)]*+, as well as the ions [L]*+, [L+H]+, [G]*+, and [G+H]+ (L=guanosine, G=guanine). The Collision-Induced Dissociation (CID) of [CuL3]*2+ and [CuL(MeOH)n]*2+ (n=2, 3) generates guanosine radical cations [L]*+, while dimeric guanosine radical cations [L2]*+ are generated in the dissociation of [CuL4]*2+. Protonated guanosine [L+H]+ is one of the main products in the primary dissociation of [CuL2]*2+, while the dissociation of the higher-order [CuG2]*2+ produces the [G]*+ radical cation. The guanosine dimer radical cation, [L2]*+ presumably arises from the interaction of two guanosine molecules via proton and hydrogen bonding and is observed to dissociate into [L+H]+ and [L-H]* at low energies. We propose that the first two ligands bind strongly with Cu(II) through N7 and O6 to form a [CuL2]*2+ complex with a four-coordinated planar structure and that a third ligand binds loosely with copper to form [CuL3]*2+. Additional ligation observed in the formation of [CuLn]*2+ (n相似文献   

Arginine‐Facilitated α‐ and π‐Radical Migrations in Glycylarginyltryptophan Radical Cations

We have used model tripeptides GXW (with X being one of the amino acid residues glycine (G), alanine (A), leucine (L), phenylalanine (F), glutamic acid (E), histidine (H), lysine (K), or arginine (R)) to study the effects of the basicity of the amino acid residue on the radical migrations and dissociations of odd‐electron molecular peptide radical cations M^.+ in the gas phase. Low‐energy collision‐induced dissociation (CID) experiments revealed that the interconvertibility of the isomers [G^.XW]⁺ (radical centered on the N‐terminal α‐carbon atom) and [GXW]^.+ (radical centered on the π system of the indolyl ring) generally increased upon increasing the proton affinity of residue X. When X was arginine, the most basic amino acid, the two isomers were fully interconvertible and produced almost identical CID spectra despite the different locations of their initial radical sites. The presence of the very basic arginine residue allowed radical migrations to proceed readily among the [G^.RW]⁺ and [GRW]^.+ isomers prior to their dissociations. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the energy barriers for isomerizations among the α‐carbon‐centered radical [G^.RW]⁺, the π‐centered radical [GRW]^.+, and the β‐carbon‐centered radical [GRW_β^.]⁺ (ca. 32–36 kcal mol⁻¹) were comparable with those for their dissociations (ca. 32–34 kcal mol⁻¹). The arginine residue in these GRW radical cations tightly sequesters the proton, thereby resulting in minimal changes in the chemical environment during the radical migrations, in contrast to the situation for the analogous GGW system, in which the proton is inefficiently stabilized during the course of radical migration.     

Vinyl carbocations: solution studies of alkenyl(aryl)iodonium triflate fragmentations

Generation of vinyl cations is facile by fragmentation of alkenyl(aryl)iodonium trifluoromethanesulfonates. Kinetics and electronic effects were probed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy in CDCl(3). Products of fragmentation include six enol triflate isomers in addition to iodoarenes. The enol triflates arise from direct reaction of a triflate anion with the starting iodonium salts as well as triflate reaction with rearranged secondary cations derived from those salts. G2 calculations of the theoretical isodesmic hydride-transfer reaction between secondary vinyl cation 7 and primary vinyl cation 6 reveal that cation 6 is 17.8 kcal/mol higher in energy. Activation parameters for fragmentation of (Z)-2-ethyl-1-hexenyl(3,5-bis-trifluoromethylphenyl)iodonium triflate, 17e, were calculated using the Arrhenius equation: E(a) = 26.8 kcal/mol, Delta H(++) = 26.2 kcal/mol, and Delta S(++) = 11.9 cal/mol x K. Added triflate increases the rate of fragmentation slightly, and it is likely that for most beta,beta-dialkyl- substituted vinylic iodonium triflates enol triflate fragmentation products are derived from three competing mechanisms: (a) vinylic S(N)()2 substitution; (b) ligand coupling (LC); and (c) concerted aryliodonio departure and 1,2-alkyl shift leading to secondary rather than primary vinyl cations.     

Trends in the reactions of gaseous phenyl pnictogen radical cations C6H5EH2*+ (E = N, P, As)

In context of an analysis of the effect of the central atom E of gaseous radical cations of phenyl pnictogens C(6)H(5)EH(2), E = N (1), P (2), and As (3), the mass spectrometric reactions of phenyl phosphane 2 have been re-investigated by D-labeling and by using methods of tandem mass spectrometry. The 70 eV mass spectrum of 2 shows the base peak for ion [M-2H](*+) and significant peaks for ions [M-H](+), [M-(2C,3H)](+), [M-PH] (*+), and [M-(C,P,2H)](+). Metastable 2(*+) fragments exclusively by loss of H(2), and the investigation of deuterated 2-d(2) shows that excessive H/D migrations occur before fragmentation. Other significant fragment ions in the mass spectrum of 2 arise by losses of C(2)H(2,) P, or HCP from the ion [M-H](+). This mass spectrometric behavior puts the radical cation 2(*+) in between the fragmentation reactions of aniline radical cation 1(*+) (loss of H and subsequent losses of C(2)H(2,) or HCN) and phenyl arsane radical cation 3(*+) (elimination of H(2) and loss of As from ion [M-H](+)). The fragmentation mechanisms of the radical cations 1(*+) -3(*+) and of related ions were analyzed by calculations of the enthalpy of relevant species at the stationary points of the minimum enthalpy reaction pathways using the DFT hybrid functionals UBHLYP/6-311+G(2d,p)//UBHLYP/6-311+G(d). The results show that, in contrast to ionized aniline 1(*+), the reactions of the derivatives 2(*+) and 3(*+) of the heavier main group elements P and As are characterized by an easy elimination of H(2)via a reductive elimination of group C(6)H(5)-E (E = P, As) and by a special stability of bicyclic isomers of 2(*+) and 3(*+). Thus, while 1(*+) rearranges by ring expansion and formation an 7-aza-tropylium cation by loss of H., the increased stability of bicyclic intermediates in the rearrangement of 2(*+) and in particular of 3(*+) results in separate rearrangement pathways. The origin of these effects is the more extended and diffuse nature of the 3p and 4p AO of P and As.     

α-Distonic ions as transient species in the reactions of metastable alkyl benzoate radical cations

The key intermediates to the fragmentation of metastable methyl and ethyl benzoate radical cations are α- and β-distonic isomers of the molecular ions. The α-distocic isomers are also formed by fragmentation of longer chain alkyl benzoates, but may not be long-lived, stable species. Rearrangement of the α-distonic ions prior to fragmentation can take place, but (re)formation of the benzoate molecular ions does not occur.     

Fragmentation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis>-radical cations of arginine-containing peptides

Fragmentation pathways of peptide radical cations, M^+·, with well-defined initial location of the radical site were explored using collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments. Peptide radical cations were produced by gas-phase fragmentation of Co^III(salen)-peptide complexes [salen=N,N′-ethylenebis (salicylideneiminato)]. Subsequent hydrogen abstraction from the β-carbon of the side-chain followed by C_α-C_β bond cleavage results in the loss of a neutral side chain and formation of an α-radical cation with the radical site localized on the α-carbon of the backbone. Similar CID spectra dominated by radical-driven dissociation products were obtained for a number of arginine-containing α-radicals, suggesting that for these systems radical migration precedes fragmentation. In contrast, proton-driven fragmentation dominates CID spectra of α-radicals produced via the loss of the arginine side chain. Radical-driven fragmentation of large M^+· peptide radical cations is dominated by side-chain losses, formation of even-electron a-ions and odd-electron x-ions resulting from C_α-C bond cleavages, formation of odd-electron z-ions, and loss of the N-terminal residue. In contrast, charge-driven fragmentation produces even-electron y-ions and odd-electron b-ions.     

Energy-variable collision-induced dissociation study of 1,3,5-trisubstituted 2-pyrazolines by electrospray mass spectrometry

The pathways of the ([M+H](+)) ions generated from electrosprayed solutions of nine 1,3,5-trisubstituted 2-pyrazoline derivatives were studied using energy-variable collision-induced dissociation (CID) and pseudo-MS(3) (in-source CID combined with MS/MS) methods. It was shown that under CID conditions several structurally important product ions such as the 2,4-substituted azete and 1,2-substituted aziridine ions were formed. The compositions of the product ions were unambiguously supported by accurate mass measurement (mass accuracy was within +/- 8 ppm). The fragmentation pathways of 1,3,5-trisubstituted 2-pyrazolines were established by means of pseudo-MS(3). It was found that a substituent at the N-1 position greatly affects the fragmentation pathways of the 2-pyrazoline derivatives. The 1-acetyl- and 1-propionyl-2-pyrazoline derivatives dissociate mainly through formation of a pyrazolium cation, while in the case of 1-phenyl-2-pyrazoline derivatives product ions arising from the consecutive fragmentation of 2,4-substituted azete and 1,2-substituted aziridine ions dominate. Another interesting finding is the formation of a radical cation from the 2,4-substituted azete by loss of a methyl radical. The fragmentation yield as a function of the collision energy for each of the 1,3,5-trisubstituted 2-pyrazolines was determined. Based on the fragmentation yield versus collision energy curves the relative fragmentation stabilities for the 1,3,5-trisubstituted 2-pyrazoline derivatives were also evaluated.     

Isostructural metal-anion radical coordination polymers with tunable phosphorescent colors (deep blue, blue, yellow, and white) induced by terminal anions and metal cations

Five phosphorescent metal-anion radical coordination polymers based on a new anion radical ligand generated by in situ deprotonation of a stable zwitterionic radical are described. The N,O,N-tripodal anion radical ligand links metal cations, which leads to five isostructural coordination polymers, [M(3)(bipo(-.))(4)(L)(2)](n) (M=Cd or Mn, Hbipo(-.)=2,3'-biimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2'-one, L=Cl(-), HCOO(-) or SCN(-)). The isostructural coordination polymers exhibit novel one-dimensional spirocycle-like structures. Three isostructural Cd(II) coordination polymers display unusual phosphorescent color changes (blue, yellow, and white) induced by terminal anions. Significantly, the Cd(II) coordination polymer with terminal Cl(-) possesses moderate quantum yield, and shows a bright white-light phosphorescence emission, which is independent of excitation wavelength and can even be excited by visible light. Upon adjusting the metal cation to Mn(II), two isostructural Mn(II) coordination polymers reveal deep-blue-light phosphorescence emissions that are independent of terminal anions. As radical-based coordination polymers, some of them show antiferromagnetic interactions between radical species or radical and metal center.     

Gas phase ion chemistry of charged silver(I) adenine ions via multistage mass spectrometry experiments and DFT calculations

Electrospray ionization (ESI) of solutions containing adenine and AgNO(3) yields polymeric [Ad(x)+ Ag(y)-zH]((y-z)+) species. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to examine potential structures for several of the smaller ions while multistage mass spectrometry experiments have been used to probe their unimolecular reactivity (via collision-induced dissociation (CID)) and bimolecular reactivity (via ion-molecule reactions with the neutral reagents acetonitrile, methanol, butylamine and pyridine). DFT calculations of neutral adenine tautomers and their silver ion adducts provide insights into the binding modes of adenine. We find that the most stable [Ad + Ag](+) ion does not correspond to the most stable neutral adenine tautomer, consistent with previous studies that have shown that transition metal ions can stabilize rare tautomeric forms of nucleobases. Both the charge and the stoichiometry of the [Ad(x)+ Ag(y)-zH]((y-z)+) complexes play pivotal roles in directing the types of fragmentation and ion-molecule reactions observed. Thus, [Ad(2)+ Ag(2)](2+) is observed to dissociate to [Ad + Ag](+) and to react with butylamine via proton transfer, while [Ad(2)+ Ag(2)- H](+) fragments via loss of neutral adenine to form the [Ad + Ag(2)- H](+) ion and does not undergo proton transfer to butylamine. DFT calculations on several isomeric [Ad(2)+ Ag(2)](2+) ions suggest that planar centrosymmetric cations, in which two adjacent silver atoms are bridged by two N7H adenine tautomers via N(3),N(9)-bidentate interactions, are the most stable. The [Ad + Ag(2)-H](+) ion adds two neutral reagents in ion-molecule reactions, consistent with the presence of two vacant coordination sites. It undergoes a silver atom loss to form the [Ad + Ag - H](+) radical cation, which in turn fragments quite differently to the even electron [Ad + Ag](+) ion. Several other pairs of radical cation/even electron adenine-silver complexes were also found to undergo different fragmentation reactions.     

Role of 2-oxo and 2-thioxo modifications on the fragmentation reactions of the histidine radical cation

The fragmentation reactions of the radical cations, M(·+), of histidine, 2-oxo-histidine and 2-thioxo-histidine were examined using a combination of experiments performed on a linear ion trap and density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the UB3-LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) on [Cu(II)(terpy)(M)](2+) complexes, formed via electrospray ionisation, produced the radical cations in sufficient yield to examine their unimolecular chemistry via an additional stage of CID. The CID spectrum of the radical cation of histidine is dominated by loss of water with the next most abundant ion arising from the combined loss of H(2)O and CO. In contrast, the CID spectra of the radical cations of 2-oxo-histidine and 2-thioxo-histidine are dominated by the combined loss of CO(2) and NH=CH(2). The observed differences are rationalised via DFT calculations which reveal that the barrier associated with loss of CO(2) from the histidine radical cation is higher than that for loss of H(2)O. In contrast, the introduction of an oxygen or sulfur atom into the side chain of histidine results in a reversal of the order of these barrier heights, thus making CO(2) loss the preferred pathway.     

Stable gas-phase radical cations of dimeric tryptophan and tyrosine derivatives

Stable radical cations of dimeric amino acid derivatives of tryptophan and tyrosine were generated by collision-induced dissociation of [Cu(II)(diethylenetriamine)(amino acid derivative)2]*2+. The yields of the dimer radical cations were dependent on both the auxiliary ligand and the tryptophan or tyrosine derivatives used. Amino acid derivatives with an unmodified carboxylic acid group did not generate dimer radical cations. For the amino acid derivatives Ac-Trp-OMe and Ac-Trp-NH2 (Ac is N-acetyl; OMe and NH2 are the methyl ester and amide modifications of the C-terminal carboxylic group), no auxiliary ligand was required for generating the dimer radical cations. Collision-induced dissociation of the [Cu(II)(amino acid derivative)4]*2+ precursor generated the dimer radical cation [(amino acid derivative)2]*+. Stabilizing interactions, most likely involving hydrogen bonding, between the two amino acid derivatives are proposed to account for observation of the dimer radical cations. Dissociation of these ions yields protonated or radical cationic amino acid derivatives; these observations are consistent with the expectation of proton competition between monomeric units, whose proton affinities were calculated using density functional theory.     

Intramolecular Gas-Phase Reactions of Synthetic Nonheme Oxoiron(IV) Ions: Proximity and Spin-State Reactivity Rules

The intramolecular gas-phase reactivity of four oxoiron(IV) complexes supported by tetradentate N(4) ligands (L) has been studied by means of tandem mass spectrometry measurements in which the gas-phase ions [Fe(IV) (O)(L)(OTf)](+) (OTf=trifluoromethanesulfonate) and [Fe(IV) (O)(L)](2+) were isolated and then allowed to fragment by collision-induced decay (CID). CID fragmentation of cations derived from oxoiron(IV) complexes of 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (tmc) and N,N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,5-diazacyclooctane (L(8) Py(2) ) afforded the same predominant products irrespective of whether they were hexacoordinate or pentacoordinate. These products resulted from the loss of water by dehydrogenation of ethylene or propylene linkers on the tetradentate ligand. In contrast, CID fragmentation of ions derived from oxoiron(IV) complexes of linear tetradentate ligands N,N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-diaminoethane (bpmen) and N,N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane (bpmpn) showed predominant oxidative N-dealkylation for the hexacoordinate [Fe(IV) (O)(L)(OTf)](+) cations and predominant dehydrogenation of the diaminoethane/propane backbone for the pentacoordinate [Fe(IV) (O)(L)](2+) cations. DFT calculations on [Fe(IV) (O)(bpmen)] ions showed that the experimentally observed preference for oxidative N-dealkylation versus dehydrogenation of the diaminoethane linker for the hexa- and pentacoordinate ions, respectively, is dictated by the proximity of the target C?H bond to the oxoiron(IV) moiety and the reactive spin state. Therefore, there must be a difference in ligand topology between the two ions. More importantly, despite the constraints on the geometries of the TS that prohibit the usual upright σ trajectory and prevent optimal σ(CH) -σ*?z?2 overlap, all the reactions still proceed preferentially on the quintet (S=2) state surface, which increases the number of exchange interactions in the d block of iron and leads thereby to exchange enhanced reactivity (EER). As such, EER is responsible for the dominance of the S=2 reactions for both hexa- and pentacoordinate complexes.     

Fragmentation of Singly,Doubly, and Triply Charged Hydrogen Deficient Peptide Radical Cations in Infrared Multiphoton Dissociation and Electron Induced Dissociation

Gas phase fragmentation of hydrogen deficient peptide radical cations continues to be an active area of research. While collision induced dissociation (CID) of singly charged species is widely examined, dissociation channels of singly and multiply charged radical cations in infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) and electron induced dissociation (EID) have not been, so far, investigated. Here, we report on the gas phase dissociation of singly, doubly and triply charged hydrogen deficient peptide radicals, [M + nH]^(n+1)+· (n = 0, 1, 2), in MS³ IRMPD and EID and compare the observed fragmentation pathways to those obtained in MS³ CID. Backbone fragmentation in MS³ IRMPD and EID was highly dependent on the charge state of the radical precursor ions, whereas amino acid side chain cleavages were largely independent of the charge state selected for fragmentation. Cleavages at aromatic amino acids, either through side chain loss or backbone fragmentation, were significantly enhanced over other dissociation channels. For singly charged species, the MS³ IRMPD and EID spectra were mainly governed by radical-driven dissociation. Fragmentation of doubly and triply charged radical cations proceeded through both radical- and charge-driven processes, resulting in the formation of a wide range of backbone product ions including, a-, b-, c-, y-, x-, and z-type. While similarities existed between MS³ CID, IRMPD, and EID of the same species, several backbone product ions and side chain losses were unique for each activation method. Furthermore, dominant dissociation pathways in each spectrum were dependent on ion activation method, amino acid composition, and charge state selected for fragmentation.     

Ionization and fragmentation of monochloro-isomers of 3-hydroxy-2-phenyl-4(1H)-quinolinone

Electron ionization (EI), methane chemical ionization (CI), and collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra of complete series of positional monochloro-isomers of 3-hydroxy-2-phenyl-4(1H)-quinolinone are evaluated and discussed. It is shown that in the CI experiments, in addition to the protonated precursor molecules, odd-electron molecular ions are formed and this affects the appearance of the CID spectra. The influence of different direct probes and other experimental parameters such as the pressure of the reagent gas, isolation width, or collision energy was studied. EI, CI and CID spectra of the positional isomers show essentially the same fragmentation pathways but comparisons of the relative signal intensities of various product ions reveal some positional effects. Different isomers are also distinguished. The compounds can be divided into two groups using diagnostic ions (chloro substitution of the quinolinone moiety or the phenyl ring) or identified using a created spectral database. It was demonstrated that the reproducibility of the CID spectra is fully satisfactory for isomer identification, and that the created database can be applied for comparison of spectra measured over an extended time period (1 month) or spectra obtained during the direct analysis of a reaction mixture extract. Explanation of the fragmentation of the isomers is supported by exploratory density functional theory (DFT) calculations, e.g. rationalization of the relatively higher importance of the M(+.)-H(.)-Cl(.)-CO fragmentation pathway during EI than during CID, and vice versa for the pathway M(+.)-Cl(.)-CO. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure and Reactivity of the Distonic and Aromatic Radical Cations of Tryptophan

In this work, we regiospecifically generate and compare the gas-phase properties of two isomeric forms of tryptophan radical cations—a distonic indolyl N-radical (H₃N⁺ - TrpN^?) and a canonical aromatic π (Trp^?+) radical cation. The distonic radical cation was generated by nitrosylating the indole nitrogen of tryptophan in solution followed by collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the resulting protonated N-nitroso tryptophan. The π-radical cation was produced via CID of the ternary [Cu^II(terpy)(Trp)] ^?2+ complex. CID spectra of the two isomeric species were found to be very different, suggesting no interconversion between the isomers. In gas-phase ion-molecule reactions, the distonic radical cation was unreactive towards n-propylsulfide, whereas the π radical cation reacted by hydrogen atom abstraction. DFT calculations revealed that the distonic indolyl radical cation is about 82 kJ/mol higher in energy than the π radical cation of tryptophan. The low reactivity of the distonic nitrogen radical cation was explained by spin delocalization of the radical over the aromatic ring and the remote, localized charge (at the amino nitrogen). The lack of interconversion between the isomers under both trapping and CID conditions was explained by the high rearrangement barrier of ca.137 kJ/mol. Finally, the two isomers were characterized by infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy in the ~1000–1800 cm^–1 region. It was found that some of the main experimental IR features overlap between the two species, making their distinction by IRMPD spectroscopy in this region problematic. In addition, DFT theoretical calculations showed that the IR spectra are strongly conformation-dependent.      

Designing copper(II) ternary complexes to generate radical cations of peptides in the gas phase: role of the auxiliary ligand

A series of ternary copper(II) complexes of the type [Cu(II)(L)(M)](2+), where M represents the hexapeptides GGGFLR, YGGFLR and WGGFLR and L a set of 12 nitrogen donor ligands have been evaluated for their ability to form cationic peptide radicals, M(+)*, in the gas phase. Although the fragmentation chemistry of these ions is complex, two main conclusions emerge: (i) Complexes containing a tri- or tetra-dentate ligand were found to be more effective at producing the peptide radical because in these instances competitive loss of the ligand from the complex is inhibited; (ii) The ligands ought not possess any acidic protons in order to prevent competitive loss of the protonated peptide, [M + H](+). There is significant interaction of the N-terminal aromatic residues in YGGFLR and WGGLFR with the copper(ii) ion in several of the complexes as revealed by the formation of [Cu(I)(L)(p-quinomethide)](+) and [Cu(I)(L)(3-methyleneindoline)](+) fragment ions. Following its dissociation from the ternary complex, CID of the YGGFLR(+)* radical cation shows a dependence on the ligand in the complex from which it was formed. This 'memory effect' most likely reflects differences in the coordinated peptide structure induced by the ligand in the precursor complex which are maintained following dissociation.     

Radical induced fragmentation of amino acid esters using triphenylcorrole(CuIII) complexes

A triphenylcorrole(CuIII) complex is covalently bound to amino acid esters at the nitrogen atom. As a result radical anions are generated, inducing the occurrence of side-chain reactions under CID conditions. Almost all of the amino acid esters that were studied show abundant ions that correspond to fragmentation at the alpha carbon either with or without the loss of the alkoxy ester moiety. Distinctive CID spectra were also recorded for leucine and isoleucine complexes. Initial results with short peptides are also shown.     

Structure of cationized arginine (arg.m, m = h, li, na, k, rb, and cs) in the gas phase: further evidence for zwitterionic arginine

The gas-phase structures of cationized arginine, Arg.M(+), M = Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs, were studied both by hybrid method density functional theory calculations and experimentally using low-energy collisionally activated and thermal radiative dissociation. Calculations at the B3LYP/LACVP++** level of theory show that the salt-bridge structures in which the arginine is a zwitterion (protonated side chain, deprotonated C-terminus) become more stable than the charge-solvated structures with increasing metal ion size. The difference in energy between the most stable charge-solvated structure and salt-bridge structure of Arg.M(+) increases from -0.7 kcal/mol for Arg.Li(+) to +3.3 kcal/mol for Arg.Cs(+). The stabilities of the salt-bridge and charge-solvated structures reverse between M = Li and Na. These calculations are in good agreement with the results of dissociation experiments. The low-energy dissociation pathways depend on the cation size. Arginine complexed with small cations (Li and Na) loses H(2)O, while arginine complexed with larger cations (K, Rb, and Cs) loses NH(3). Loss of H(2)O must come from a charge-solvated ion, whereas the loss of NH(3) can come from the protonated side chain of a salt-bridge structure. The results of dissociation experiments using several cationized arginine derivatives are consistent with the existence of these two distinct structures. In particular, arginine methyl esters, which cannot form salt bridges, dissociate by loss of methanol, analogous to loss of H(2)O from Arg.M(+); no loss of NH(3) is observed. Although dissociation experiments probe gas-phase structure indirectly, the observed fragmentation pathways are in good agreement with the calculated lowest energy isomers. The combination of the results from experiment and theory provides strong evidence that the structure of arginine-alkali metal ion complexes in the gas phase changes from a charge-solvated structure to a salt-bridge structure as the size of the metal ion increases.