Characteristic fragmentations of peptide derivatives containing proline in negative-ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry

Fragmentations of N-benzyloxycarbonyl-protected tripeptide ethyl esters containing proline were compared with those of the corresponding peptide derivatives not containing proline in negative-ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. The fragment ion [M – 109]^? due to loss of the benzyloxy group followed by dehydrogenation from the peptide molecule was the base peak in the negative-ion mass spectra for the peptides not containing proline, whilst it was a very weak fragment ion or not observed at all in those for the peptides containing proline. These results suggest that the fragmentations of the peptide derivatives in negative-ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry depend on the conformational difference of the peptide derivatives owing to the existence of proline in the derivative.