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Control of the ion internal energy in mass spectrometry is needed to establish a workable mass spectral library. The purpose of this study is to understand and to compare the pressure effects on the collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectrum pattern recorded using triple quadrupole instruments. The monoprotonated Leucine enkephalin [YGGFL, H(+)] was used as a thermometer molecule to calibrate the electrospray ionization (ESI) and the CID internal energies deposited on the molecular species and the time scale of ion decompositions. The survival yield and the ratio of a(4)/b(4) fragment ions were mainly monitored. The energy uptake for the ESI source geometry used in our study has no impact on the CID spectrum fingerprint. The collision cell pressure for the [YGGFL, H(+)] has a major influence on the SY curves slope and on the experimental time scale. To demonstrate the pressure effect on internal energy distribution, three models (threshold, thermal and collisional) based on RRKM theory were built using the Masskinetics software. As a result, the limit of each model is discussed, and the investigation demonstrates that the thermal model, using truncated Maxwell-Boltzmann internal energy distribution, is well-suited for simulating the experimental data at high pressure widely used in the analytical conditions., (Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

(P,C)-cyclometalated Au(III) complexes have shown remarkable ability to catalyze the intermolecular hydroarylation of alkynes. Evidence of an outer-sphere mechanism has been provided in a previous study and is confirmed here by analysing the experimental data and DFT calculations. In this work, we propose evaluation of critical energies of dissociation of Au(III) complexes with different substrates via energyresolved mass spectrometry (ERMS) experiments and kinetic modelling. The kinetic model is based on a multi-collisional approach. On the one hand, the classification confirms the mechanism previously proposed; on the other hand, it supports the collisional model and its application to particularly fragile adducts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigations based on NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and DFT calculations shed light on the metallic species generated in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric [2+2+2] cycloaddition reaction between diynes and isocyanates with the chiral phosphate TRIP. The catalytic mixture comprising [{Rh(cod)Cl}2], 1,4-diphenylphosphinobutane (dppb), and Ag( S)-TRIP actually gives rise to two species, both having an effect on the stereoselectivity. One is a rhodium(I) complex in which TRIP is a weakly coordinating counterion, whereas the other is a bimetallic Rh/Ag complex in which TRIP is a strongly coordinating X-type ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproducibility among different types of excitation modes is a major bottleneck in the field of tandem mass spectrometry library development in metabolomics. In this study, we specifically evaluated the influence of collision voltage and activation time parameters on tandem mass spectrometry spectra for various excitation modes [collision-induced dissociation (CID), pulsed Q dissociation (PQD) and higher-energy collision dissociation (HCD)] of Orbitrap-based instruments. For this purpose, internal energy deposition was probed using an approach based on Rice-Rampserger-Kassel-Marcus modeling with three thermometer compounds of different degree of freedom (69, 228 and 420) and a thermal model. This model treats consecutively the activation and decomposition steps, and the survival precursor ion populations are characterized by truncated Maxwell-Boltzmann internal energy distributions. This study demonstrates that the activation time has a significant impact on MS/MS spectra using the CID and PQD modes. The proposed model seems suitable to describe the multiple collision regime in the PQD and HCD modes. Linear relationships between mean internal energy and collision voltage are shown for the latter modes and the three thermometer molecules. These results suggest that a calibration based on the collision voltage should provide reproducible for PQD, HCD to be compared with CID in tandem in space instruments. However, an important signal loss is observed in PQD excitation mode whatever the mass of the studied compounds, which may affect not only parent ions but also fragment ions depending on the fragmentation parameters. A calibration approach for the CID mode based on the variation of activation time parameter is more appropriate than one based on collision voltage. In fact, the activation time parameter in CID induces a modification of the collisional regime and thus helps control the orientation of the fragmentation pathways (competitive or consecutive dissociations). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of the Pauson-Khand reaction has been studied by mass spectrometry and it has been found, through ion-molecule reaction with 13CO, that the carbon monoxide incorporated into the product cyclopentenone is one that has been retained within the complex. Theoretical and kinetic calculations support this finding, which provides a complementary explanation for the effect of Pauson-Khand promoters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organophosphorus compounds have played important roles as pesticides, chemical warfare agents and extractors of radioactive material. Structural elucidation of phosphonates poses a particular challenge because their initial forms can be hydrolyzed, thus, degradation products may predominate in samples acquired in the field. The analysis of non-volatile organophosphorus compounds and their degradation products is possible using electrospray tandem mass spectrometry ESI-MS/MS. Here, we present a generic strategy that allows the unambiguous identification of substituents for two families of organophosphorus compounds: the phosphonates and phosphates. General fragmentation rules were deduced based on the study of decomposition pathways of 55 organophosphorus esters, including examples found in the literature. Multistage MS (MSn) experiments at high resolution in a hybrid mass spectrometer provide accurate mass measurements, whereas collision-induced dissociation experiments in a triple quadrupole give access to small fragment ions. The creation of a specific nomenclature for each possible structure of organophosphorus compound, depending on the alkyl side chain linked to the oxygen, was achieved by applying these fragmentation rules. This led to the creation of an 'identification tree' based upon the unique consecutive decomposition pathways uncovered for each individual compound. Hence, seven structural motifs were created that orient an unequivocal identification using the 'identification tree'. Despite the similar structures of the ensemble of phosphate and phosphonate esters, distinct identifications based upon characteristic neutral losses and diagnostic fragment ions were possible in all cases. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amiclenomycin, a natural product containing the 1-amino cyclohexa-2,5-diene moiety is an inhibitor of 7;8-diaminopelargonic acid aminotransferase, a pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) dependent enzyme involved in biotin biosynthesis. The postulated mechanism implies the aromatisation of the Schiff base formed between PLP and amiclenomycin. Aromatic adducts have been obtained by heating PLP with amiclenomycin and other related 1-amino cyclohexa-2,5-dienes. They were fully characterized by UV–visible and ESI mass spectrometry and provide standards for identification of the enzyme-derived products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Negative ion chemical ionization (NICI) using a chiral reagent gas such as (2S,3S) butanediol (GSS) allows the differentiation of chiral α hydroxy esters (MR or MS). The distinction is significantly enhanced by using CID on the deprotonated hetero dimer [M + (GSS-H)]-. The contribution of a non covalent [M + (GSS-H)]- competitive form is very minor. In fact, a covalent form appears favored. To produce a covalent adduct ion, an enantioselectivity of the alkoxide attack on the electrophilic ester site to form a tetravalent adduct is suggested by the product ion abundances. This observed steric control is consistent with the one observed in solution (Cram–Felkin addition/reduction orientation). The dissociations under collision conditions of the product deprotonated diastereomeric compounds show a stereospecific effect in the elimination of alcohol from the tetravalent adduct ions rather than a regeneration of the deprotonated diol reagent as expected from non-covalent heterodimer. This study shows an orientation with a chiral compound that allows, from an analytical point of view, the distinction of enantiomers and the attribution of chirality in the gas phase under NICI conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A major hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the strong accumulation in brain of senile plaques, mainly composed of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). Recent studies have suggested that the zinc cation would be a possible key mediating factor for the formation of amyloid extracellular deposits, by binding to Aβ and triggering the involved aggregation process. From a previous circular dichroism (CD) study, we have proposed the N-terminal 1–16 region of Aβ(1–16), as the minimal fragment able to specifically bind zinc. Here we investigate the Zn2+ binding properties of Aβ(1–16) by electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The stoichiometry of Aβ(1–16)/Zn2+ association and the relative affinity of different cations towards Aβ(1–16) are investigated by analyzing the mass spectra of Aβ(1–16) in the presence of different cations, introduced alone or in competition. Zn2+ binding sites are determined from collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments conducted on the Aβ(1–16) cationized species. From these data, Aβ(1–16) is shown to form a 1:1 complex with Zn2+ and to bind up to three cations upon increasing the Zn2+ concentration. Under CID, zinc binding induces specific cleavages after the three histidines of the Aβ(1–16) sequence (H6, H13 and H14), showing their simultaneous implication in the Zn2+ coordination sphere. The binding of Aβ(1–16) to several Zn2+ cations appears less specific, but still implicates the three histidines, each of them behaving thus as an autonomous binding site. A model is proposed to explain both the specific and the aspecific interactions of Zn2+ with Aβ(1–16) that is confirmed here to behave as the minimal zinc-binding region of Aβ. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]