Study of metal complexes of a tripodal hydroxypyridinone ligand by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

The tripodal ligand N,N,N-tris[(1,hydroxy-2-pyridinon-6-yl)amide]propylamine was synthesized. It is composed of an anchor (nitrogen atom), a functional group (hydroxamate), and also a spacer of variable length defined by the number of methylene groups linking the anchor and the functional group. The characterization of this ligand in the presence of several divalent metal cations (Fe(II), Mn(II), Co(II) and Cu(II)), performed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS and ESI-MS/MS), allowed elucidation of oxidation states and also of different fragmentation patterns. The importance of the spacer length was studied in the case of the iron binary complex by comparing this ligand with another with a shorter spacer. In this way the stabilizing conditions, in which hydrogen bonds are implicated, were clarified.