The reaction intermediate spectrum. A new type of experiment in tandem mass spectrometry

Determination of the dissociation kinetics of a transient intermediate

Tandem mass spectrometry provides information on the dissociation pathways of gas-phase ions by providing a link between product ions and parent ions. However, there exists a distinct possibility that a parent ion does not dissociate directly to the observed product ion, but that the reaction proceeds through unobserved reaction intermediates. This work describes the discovery and kinetic analysis of an unobserved reaction intermediate with a quadrupole ion trap. [a4 - NH3] ions formed from [YG beta FL + H] ions dissociate to [(F*YG - NH3) - CO] ions. It is expected, however, from previous results, that [F*YG - NH3] ions should form prior to [(F*YG - NH3) - CO] ions. Double-resonance experiments are used to demonstrate the existence of intermediate [F*YG - NH3] ions. Various kinetic analyses are then performed using traditional collision-induced dissociation kinetics and double-resonance experiments. The phenomenological rates of formation and decay of peptide rearrangement ion dissociation products are determined by curve fitting decay and formation data generated with the kinetics experiments. The data generated predict an observable level of the intermediate in a time frame accessible but previously not monitored. By examining early product-ion formation, the intermediate ions, [F*YG - NH3]+, are observed.

Ion-molecule reactions and collision-activated dissociation of C4H 4 (+.) isomers: A case study in the use of the MS (3) capabilities of a pentaquadrupole mass spectrometer

Isomeric C4H 4 (+.) radical cations vinylacetylene (a), butatriene (b), methylene cyclopropene (c), and the nonaromatic cyclobutadiene (d), generated, respectively, from the neutral precursors 3-butyn-1-ol (1), 1,4-dichloro-2-butyne (2), benzene (3), and 7,8-benzotricyclo [4.2.2.0(2,5)]deca-3,7,9-triene (4), undergo diagnostically different ion-molecule reactions with allene, isoprene, furan, and thiophene. It is speculated that adducts are generated by [2 + 2] cycloadditions with the first reagent and [4 + 2] Dials-Alder cycloadditions with isoprene, furan, and thiophene. The initially formed cycloaddition adducts fragment rapidly, isomerize, or undergo further addition of neutral reagent to yield a complex set of products. With a pentaquadrupole mass spectrometer, MS(3) experiments that employ three stages of ion mass analysis are used to help elucidate the ion-molecule reactions and to distinguish the isomeric C(4)H 4 (+.) ions. Among these experiments, the reaction intermediate spectrum reveals the nature of the intermediates connecting the reactant to a selected product while the sequential product spectrum provides mechanistic and structural information on the adducts and other ion-molecule products. The unique combination of ion-molecule reactions with collision-activated dissociation employed here provides valuable information on the chemistry of ionized cyclobutadiene, including its proclivity to undergo [2 + 2] and [4 + 2] cyc1oadditions.

Mass spectrometry and its use in tandem with laser spectroscopy

Mass spectrometry is undergoing rapid development, especially with the extension of its range into the hundreds of kilodaltons, the emergence of the quadrupole ion trap as a high-performance instrument, and the development of techniques for recording three-dimensional spectra. These advances are summarized in this review; in addition, the power of the combination of lasers and mass spectrometers is given particular emphasis. Their combination has contributed recently to chemical dynamics, to the study of cluster structure and reactivity, and to the elucidation of the properties of highly excited molecules and ions.