Potential interstellar molecules. Formation of neutral C(6)CO from C(6)CO(-*) in the gas phase

Quantification of carbonate by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Carbon dioxide and carbonates are widely distributed in nature, are constituents of inorganic and organic matter, and are essential in vegetable and animal organisms. CO(2) is the principal greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. In human blood, CO(2)/HCO(3)(-) is an important buffering system. Quantification of bicarbonate and carbonate in inorganic and organic matter and in biological fluids such as blood or blood plasma by means of the GC-MS technology has been impossible so far, presumably because of the lack of suitable derivatization reactions to produce volatile and thermally stable derivatives. Here, a novel derivatization reaction is described for carbonate that allows for its quantification in aqueous alkaline solutions and alkalinized plasma and urine. Carbonate in acetonic solutions of these matrices (1:4 v/v) and added (13)C-labeled carbonate for use as the internal standard were heated in the presence of the derivatization agent pentafluorobenzyl (PFB) bromide for 60 min and 50 °C. Investigations with (12)CO(3)(2-), (13)CO(3)(2-), (CH(3))(2)CO, and (CD(3))(2)CO in alkaline solutions and GC-MS and GC-MS/MS analyses under negative-ion chemical ionization (NICI) or electron ionization (EI) conditions of toluene extracts of the reactants revealed formation of two minor [i.e., PFB-OCOOH and O=CO(2)-(PFB)(2)] and two major [i.e., CH(3)COCH(2)-C(OH)(OPFB)(2) and CH(3)COCH=C(OPFB)(2)] carbonate derivatives. The latter have different retention times (7.9 and 7.5 min, respectively) but virtually identical EI and NICI mass spectra. It is assumed that CH(3)COCH(2)-C(OH)(OPFB)(2) is formed from the reaction of the carbonate dianion with two molecules of PFB bromide to form the diPFB ester of carbonic acid, which further reacts with one molecule of acetone. Subsequent loss of water finally generates the major derivative CH(3)COCH=C(OPFB)(2). This derivatization reaction was utilized to quantify total CO(2)/HCO(3)(-)/CO(3)(2-) (tCO(2)) in human plasma and urine by GC-MS in the NICI mode by selected ion monitoring of the anions [M-H](-) of CH(3)COCH=C(OPFB)(2) at m/z 461 for the endogenous species and m/z 462 for the internal standard (13)CO(3)(2-). Oral intake of the carboanhydrase inhibitor drug acetazolamide by two healthy volunteers resulted in temporary increased excretion of tCO(2) in the urine. The method is specific for carbonate, accurate, sensitive and should be applicable to various matrices including human fluids and environmental samples.

Unusual collision-induced dissociation of fluorated and non-fluorated α-nitrotoluene analogs in a gas chromatograph triple-stage quadrupole mass spectrometer under electron-capturing negative-ion chemical ionization conditions

Unusual collision-induced dissociation (CID) of perfluorated and non-perfluorated alpha-nitrotoluene analogs in a gas chromatograph triple-stage quadrupole (TSQ) mass spectrometer (GC-QqQ-MS) under electron-capturing negative-ion chemical ionization conditions is reported. CID of [M - 1]- of alpha-nitro-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorotoluene (C6F5CH2-NO2) and alpha-nitro-2,5-difluorotoluene (C6H3F2CH2-NO2) produced an intense ion with m/z 66. By using 15N- or 18O-labelled C6F5CH2-NO2 analogs, we found that this anion has the formula C3NO. By contrast, CID of [M - 1]- of alpha-nitrotoluene (C6H5CH2-NO2) and alpha-nitro-3,5-difluorotoluene (C6H3F2CH2-NO2) produced an anion with m/z 86 with the formula C3H4NO2. The expected CID of the C-N-bond of all alpha-nitrotoluene analogs to form the nitrite anion (NO2-, m/z 46) did not occur. We propose mechanisms for the formation of the anions C3NO and C3H4NO2 in the collision chamber of the TSQ mass spectrometer. The most likely structures for the anion C3NO are :C=C=C=N--O and N triple bond C-C triple bond C--O-. The unique CID behavior of C6F5CH2--NO2 can be utilized to unequivocally identify and accurately quantify nitrite in biological fluids by GC-tandem MS.