The study and characterization of nucleosides by mass spectrometry—I: The mass spectra of pyrimidine 2,2′-anhydronucleosides and their derivatives

The mass spectra of 2,2′-anhydrouridine, 2,2′-anhydrothymidine and 2,2′-anhydro-4-thiouridine are reported. The acetyl, trifluoroacetyl, trityl, pivaloyl and trimethylsilyl ether derivatives were also studied. Deuterium labeling in acetyl and trimethylsilyl groups aided characterization of many ions in the spectra, as well as helping to clarify hydrogen migration processes. The anhydronucleosides and their derivatives are readily distinguished from natural nucleosides by the presence of an ion containing the base moiety plus the anhydro-ring plus one hydrogen atom from the rest of the molecule. As for natural nucleosides the [base + H]⁺ and [base + 2H]⁺ ions are usually prominent, but in contrast to natural nucleosides, ions characteristic of the sugar moiety do not retain the 2′-oxygen atom (i.e. the oxygen atom of the anhydro-ring). The mass spectra of deuterium labeled derivatives suggest a test for the presence of a 3′-O-acetyl function (the O-acetyl group is lost from the molecular ion much more readily from the 3′- than from the 5′-carbon atom). The trimethylsilyl derivatives showed evidence in their mass spectra for migration of trimethylsilyl groups in addition to hydrogen atoms.     

Measurement of unimolecular decay in peptides of masses greater than 1200 units by a reflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometer

Daughter ions from decomposition of [M + H]+ parent ions have been observed in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer fitted with an ion mirror. Unit mass resolution is obtained for parent ions of masses up to several thousand u when the mirror voltage is set at a value determined by the usual velocity-focusing criterion for parent ions. Under this condition the daughter-ion resolution in the low-mass range suffers. Considerable improvement is obtained when the daughter-ion spectrum is examined in several segments, with the mirror voltage optimized for each segment. The daughter-ion spectrum from decay of metastable [M + H]+ parent ions in Substance P is measured using this technique. Reasons are suggested for differences between the spectrum obtained and a spectrum for the same compound recently obtained using a tandem double-focusing instrument.     

Mass spectra of sterically crowded trialkylsilyl derivatives of nucleosides

The electron impact mass spectra of tert-butyldimethylsilyl-, cyclo-tetramethylene-tert-butylsilyl and cyclo-tetramethylene-isopropylsilyl- ether derivatives of ribo- and 2′-deoxyribonucleosides are described in detail. The interpretation of fragmentation pathways of full and mixed derivatives was aided by metastable ion decomposition studies, precise mass and deuterium labelling measurements, and spectra of mixed derivatives containing the ‘passive’ (in these spectra) trimethylsilyl group. The sterically crowded silyl groups have a powerful fragmentation directing effect. Elimination of a bulky radical, R˙ (tert-butyl or isopropyl), from the molecular ion produces the siliconium ion [M? R]⁺, which is the precursor for most of the other prominent ions in the spectra. These arise from ‘siliconium ion rearrangements’ resulting from the interaction of the positively charged siliconium ion center with electron dense regions (i.e. oxygens) in the molecule, to form cyclic silyloxonium ions which subsequently decompose. Since the interacting oxygen and silicon must be sterically accessible, the fragment ion types and their abundances are very dependent upon structure. Consequently, [M? R]⁺ ions formed from 2′, 3′ or 5′-O-silyl groups give rise to different sets of daughter ions which, for the most part, are not found, or have very low abundances, in the mass spectra of underivatized or trimethylsilylated nucleosides. Detailed information on sugar and base moieties and isomeric substitution is readily obtained.     

Simple Zeros of the Riemann Zeta-Function

Assuming the Riemann Hypothesis, Montgomery showed by meansof his pair correlation method that at least two-thirds of thezeros of Riemann's zeta-function are simple. Later he and Taylorimproved this to 67.25 percent and, more recently, Cheer andGoldston increased the percentage to 67.2753. Here we proveby a new method that if the Riemann and Generalized LindelöofHypotheses hold, then at least 70.3704 percent of the zerosare simple and at least 84.5679 percent are distinct. Our methoduses mean value estimates for various functions defined by Dirichletseries sampled at the zeros of the Riemann zeta-function. 1991Mathematics Subject Classification: 11M26.