Abstract: | A variety of fatty acid functional derivatives were desorbed by fast atom bombardment and collisionally activated. Derivatives having a high proton affinity such as fatty amides, pyrrolidides and picolinyl esters fragment to give decompositions that originate remote from the charge site. In contrast, derivatives having a low proton affinity such as fatty acids and fatty esters fragment to give charge-initiated decompositions. Therefore, the choice of the fatty acid functional derivative is important in effecting charge-remote decompositions of the M + H]+ ions. The collisional activation spectra of the M + H]+ ions of fatty alcohols and fatty amines were also compared. Based on this comparison, the internal energy required in order for charge-remote fragmentations to occur is estimated to be between 1.4 and 2.9 eV. This work is a guide in designing functional derivatives of fatty acids that undergo charge-remote reactions. |