HPLC,mass spectrometry,and LC/MS of gossypol and its derivatives

Conditions are reported for the reverse-phase HPLC analysis of gossypol and of some of its derivatives, including anhydrogossypol, gossypolone, gossypol hexaacetate, and Schiff's base derivatives. It is shown that field desorption (FD) and chemical ionization (CI) mass spectrometry have advantages over electron impact (EI) mass spectrometry for the characterization of these compounds and that combined high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), especially when used in the CI mode, is particularly effective.