Role of molecular oxygen in fragmentation processes of abscisic acid methyl ester in electron capture negative ionization

Does deprotonated benzoic acid lose carbon monoxide in collision-induced dissociation?

Decarboxylation is known to be the major fragmentation pathway for the deprotonated carboxylic acids in collision-induced dissociation (CID). However, in the CID mass spectrum of deprotonated benzoic acid (m/z 121) recorded on a Q-orbitrap mass spectrometer, the dominant peak was found to be m/z 93 instead of the anticipated m/z 77. Based on theoretical calculations, 18 O-isotope labeling and MS3 experiments, we demonstrated that the fragmentation of benzoate anion begins with decarboxylation, but the initial phenide anion (m/z 77) can react with trace O2 in the mass analyzer to produce phenolate anion (m/z 93) and other oxygen-containing ions. Thus oxygen adducts should be considered when annotating the MS/MS spectra of benzoic acids.

Evidence of Gas-Phase Attachment of Molecular Oxygen to Deprotonated Hydroquinone During Ion-Mobility Mass Spectrometry

Gas-phase addition of dioxygen to certain ions is a well-known phenomenon in mass spectrometry. For this reaction to occur, the presence of a distonic radical site on the precursor ion is thought to be a prerequisite. Herein, we report that oxygen adduct formation can take place also with deprotonated hydroquinone, which in fact is an even-electron species without a radical site. When the product-ion spectrum of the m/z 109 ion, generated by electrospray ionization from a solution of hydroquinone in acetonitrile, was recorded under ion-mobility conditions, a new peak was observed at m/z 141. However, an analogous peak was not visible in the spectrum acquired under nonmobility conditions (i.e., without any gas introduced to the mobility cell). Presumably, traces of oxygen present in the collision gas instigate an ion-molecule reaction to produce an adduct of m/z 141, which upon activation results in CO and H₂O loss to form a product ion of m/z 95. Isotope-labeling studies confirmed that one of the hydrogen atoms from the hydroxy group and another from the aromatic ring contribute to the water loss instigated from the m/z 141 adduct. Furthermore, computational methods indicated the three-dimensional structure of the ground-state deprotonated hydroquinone to be distinctly different from those of its 1,2- and 1,3-isomers. Calculations predicted that all atoms in the two m/z 109 ions generated from catechol and resorcinol lie on one plane. In contrast, the structure of the m/z 109 ion from hydroquinone was significantly different. Computations predicted that the hydrogen atom on the intact hydroxyl group of deprotonated hydroquinone protrudes out of plane from rest of the atoms. Consequently, the exposed OH group can interact with an incoming dioxygen molecule. Computations conducted at the CAM-B3LYP/6-311++g(2d,2p) level of theory detected a minimum energy crossing point (MECP) at -4.3 kJ mol^-1 below the separated O₂ + deprotonated hydroquinone triplet threshold. In contrast, similar calculations conducted for catechol and resorcinol yielded MECPs of +116.9 and +69.1 kJ mol^-1, respectively, above the associated triplet thresholds. These results indicated that the curve crossing required to form singlet products upon reaction with triplet O₂ is favorable in the case of hydroquinone and unfavorable in the cases of catechol and resorcinol. In practical terms, the selective oxygen addition appears to be a diagnostically useful reaction to differentiate hydroquinone from its ring isomers.

Induction of ABA 8'-hydroxylase by (+)-S-, (-)-R- and 8'-8'-8'-trifluoro-S-abscisic acid in suspension cultures of potato and Arabidopsis

Suspension cultures of potato and Arabidopsis were incubated with 50 microM of (+)-ABA and (-)-ABA for 3 hr. These pretreatments were found to increase the rate, by two- to seven-fold, of formation of [2H6] phaseic acid (PA) from [2H6] ABA, applied in a subsequent incubation. Pretreatment with trifluoro-ABA had a higher efficacy, increasing the rate of conversion 15-fold. Suspension cell cultures that had been dehydrated and then rehydrated in the presence of [2H6] ABA displayed a much lower enhancement of PA formation. We conclude that ABA induces its own oxidative catabolism in suspension cultures.

Selective detection of the tolyl cation among other [C7H 7] (+) isomers by ion/molecule reaction with dimethyl ether

The ion/molecule reaction of the tolyl cation with dimethyl ether has been investigated using triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Three isomers with [C7H7](+) composition, the 3-tolyl, benzyl, and tropylium cations, were individually selected and reacted with dimethyl ether at a pressure of 1 mtorr in the second quadrupole (Q2) collision cell. Only the tolyl ion reacted to yield a methoxylated product ion peak at m/z 122. This reaction product having m/z 122 is postulated to be identical in structure with the molecular ion of 3-methyl anisole, as supported by thermochemical data and the similarity of the collision induced dissociation (CID) daughter ion mass spectra of the product ion and the molecular ion of authentic 3-methyl anisole. The daughter ion mass spectra of the three [C7H7](+) isomers during CID, by using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, are nearly identical; on the other hand, the analytical approach based on the ion/molecule reaction with dimethyl ether clearly exhibits distinct gas-phase chemistry reflecting structural differences among the isomers. Sot.