Application of Copper Salts To Initiate Cluster Formation of Organic Compounds by "Soft" Ionization Methods.

This work is aimed at obtaining mixed cluster ions of amino acids with copper salts using soft ionization methods. We have shown that amino acid molecules are capable of forming aggregates stabilized by d-metals. In particular, such clusters can form in the presence of silver salts. In the present work, it is revealed that the largest cluster ions can be obtained using the electrospray ionization method. It is found that, upon ionization of amino acids (leucine, alanine, proline, tyrosine, and tryptophan) in the presence of copper salts, cluster associates with a mass of up to 1500 Da are formed. It is also found that the formation of cluster ions strongly depends on the nature of the amino acid and polarity of the charge in the cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]