Application of atmospheric pressure ionization HPLC-MS-MS for the analysis of natural products

Summary The development of techniques utilizing atmospheric pressure ionization, namely atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electrospray ionization (ESI), has pioneered the coupling of liquid chromatography (HPLC) with mass spectrometry in recent years. Both ESI and APCI generate ions from polar and labile biomaterials with remarkable ease and efficiency. In particular, the use of HPLC with tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) opens further dimensions in the field of bioorganic analysis. Thus, HPLC-MS-MS provides the tools for direct elucidation of the structure and variety of polar natural compounds in complex matrices. In order to develop efficient and straightforward strategies for the analysis of polar natural products, the potential and the limitations of these hyphenated analytical techniques are discussed using heterocyclic aromatic amines, fumonisins, acylated glycoconjugates and regioisomeric fatty acid hydroperoxides as examples. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996