An attempt to distinguish between the components of a mixture of isomeric fragment ions

The C₇H₁₀NO₃]⁺ ion in the normal mass spectrum of 2-ethoxycarbonyl-5-oxo-2-pyrrolidinepropanoic acid was shown to correspond to a mixture of two isomeric structures. By decreasing the ionizing electron energy, the one containing a CH₂CH₂COOH group becomes dominant. The proportion of the concentrations of the two isomeric ions was calculated by comparing their daughter ion spectra (obtained by linked scan at constant B/E) with the analogous spectra of a derivative partially labelled by deuterium at the carboxyl and amide groups.