Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry of synthetic polyesters

Enhanced mixture analysis of poly(ethylene glycol) using high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry combined with fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

The combination of high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) makes possible lower detection limits, increased sensitivity, and increased dynamic range in the analysis of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) samples of low molecular weight. The signal gain obtained using FAIMS depends on ion identity, with a range between 1.8x and 14x obtained for various molecular ions of PEG 600. A 1.7-fold reduction in noise is obtained using FAIMS due to the elimination of chemical noise. The improved detection performance is predominantly due to a reduction in adverse Coulomb effects as a result of ions being selectively introduced into the mass spectrometer. The high ion transmission obtained using FAIMS combined with the high sensitivity of FTICR-MS detection make possible separation of multiple gas-phase conformers of PEG molecular cations that have low abundance (less than 0.2% relative abundance) and that have not been detected previously. Mixed dications of PEG that have the same nominal mass but differ by the number polymer subunits (m/Delta m up to 25,000) can be separately introduced into the mass spectrometer using FAIMS. Interactions of the carrier gas with the metal ions that are attached to the PEG molecules appear to be the most significant factor in these FAIMS separations.

Structural characterization of polyethers using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Fragmentation of polyethers, such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(propylene glycol) and poly(tetramethylene glycol) was analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS/MS) using a quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometer (QIT-ToF). The Li adduct ion provided more abundant fragments than the Na and K adduct ions in the MS/MS spectra. A previous study had demonstrated four series fragments of hydroxyl-, vinyl- and formyl-terminated ions, as well as distonic cations, in high-energy fast atom bombardment MS/MS and MALDI collision-induced dissociation measurements of poly(ethylene glycol). In the present study, the low-energy MS/MS measurements using MALDI-QIT-ToF, showed hydroxyl-, vinyl- and formyl- terminated fragments with or without other fragment groups, but not distonic cations. The fragmentation depended on the types of polyethers examined. MS/MS measurements using MALDI-QIT-ToF are expected to allow structural characterization of unknown components of polyethers.

Importance of Solubility in the Sample Preparation of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) for MALDI TOFMS

The role of solubility in the sample preparation process for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is demonstrated for oligomeric and medium molar mass poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). For low molar mass oligomers (PET-1), minor discrimination effects were observed when the sample was not completely in solution. MALDI spectra of medium molar mass PET, representative of the entire molar mass distribution, were obtained only when a good solvent for PET was used, such as 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (commonly referred to as HFIP), as the sample preparation solvent and dithranol as the matrix. The azeotropic composition of 70:30 CH(2)Cl(2)/HFIP better solubilizes the more nonpolar matrixes, which enables more latitude in selecting sample preparation conditions than pure HFIP. Segregation effects were observed when the azeotrope mixture was diluted with tetrahydrofuran, resulting in large molar mass distribution discrimination effects in the MALDI spectra. Dilution with CH(2)Cl(2) resulted in a significant decrease in the overall signal intensity for the entire polymer distribution. With each attempt to dilute the azeotrope, the sample after solvent evaporation was visibly heterogeneous, which resulted in shot-to-shot variability. Both examples demonstrate the importance of constant solvent composition during solvent evaporation. The compatibility of matrix and polymer was explored using relative HPLC retention times. Consistent with previous work in our laboratories, it was found that the matrix/polymer combination that has the closest match of retention time resulted in the best MALDI signal intensity.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of discrete mass poly(butylene glutarate) oligomers

The mass dependency of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) response has been studied using equimolar mixtures of synthetic discrete mass poly(butylene glutarate) (PBG) oligomers of known structure having degrees of polymerization of 8, 16, 32, and 64. Mass discrimination observed was attributed to choice of matrix and detector saturation caused by higher laser intensity and inclusion of matrix ions in the MALDI spectra. Optimization of sample preparation and instrumental parameters provided uniform response over the mass ranged spanned by these four oligomers. The oligomer mixture was shown to serve as a model of more complex polymer distributions in the mass range 780-6000 Da, and application of the discrete mass oligomers as internal and calibration standards was demonstrated. Inclusion of PBG discrete mass oligomers as an internal standard in a quasi-equimolar mixture with polydispersed poly(butylene adipate) (PBA) indicated that some diminution of response occurred during the analysis of this mixture of materials. Reasons for differences in the corrected molecular weight averages of the polydispersed PBA obtained from measurements using MALDI and GPC were studied using individual discrete mass oligomers as calibration standards for GPC. The data indicated that differences in hydrodynamic volumes of PBG oligomers and PEG standards at similar masses resulted in an overestimation by GPC of the molecular weight averages of the PBA distribution.

Characterization of polyesters prepared from three different phthalic acid isomers by CID-ESI-FT-ICR and PSD-MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Polyesters prepared from the same diol, 2-butyl-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol, but different phthalic acid isomers, phthalic, isophthalic, and terephthalic acid, were characterized by collision-induced dissociation electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (CID-ESI-FT-ICR) and postsource-decay matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (PSD-MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Sodiated dihydroxyl-terminated polyester oligomers containing five repeating units at m/z 1634 were selected as precursor ions for dissociation studies. Two main mechanisms occurred in the fragmentation of all of the polyesters, since dissociation of the oligomers was initiated by hydrogen rearrangement or transesterification reactions. Polyesters prepared from different phthalic acid isomers could be distinguished by their fragmentation behavior. Polyester prepared from phthalic acid was easily identified by using both CID-ESI-FT-ICR and PSD-MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. However, distinguishing between the polyesters prepared from isophthalic and terephthalic acid succeeded marginally only with CID-ESI-FT-ICR mass spectrometry. Molecular dynamics calculations were used to obtain an idea of the fragmentation behavior of the polyesters. The low-energy structures of the precursor ions were determined, and the coordination of the oxygen atoms of the polyester oligomers to the sodium cation was examined more closely. Both the experimental and the theoretical studies showed that the sodium ion affinity of polyester changed with the phthalic acid isomer.

Characterization of poly(ethylene glycol) esters using low energy collision-induced dissociation in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A method of characterizing polyglycol esters, an important class of industrial polymer, has been developed using electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI ITMS). The fragmentation behavior of polyglycol esters is found to be different from that of polyglycols whose functional end groups are linked to the polymer chain via ether bonds (i.e., polyglycol ethers). The fragmentation pattern of an oligomer ion generated by low-energy collision-induced dissociation is strongly dependent on the type of cation used for ionization. It is shown that structural information on the polymer chain and end groups is best obtained by examining the fragment ion spectra of oligomers ionized by ammonium, alkali, and transition metal ions. The application of this method is demonstrated in the analysis of two surfactants based on fatty acid methyl ester ethoxylates.

Application of an integrated matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry approach to characterizing complex polyol mixtures

Polyols are being used in a wide range of industrial applications including surfactants and precursors for grafted polymers. The characterization of polyols is of significance in correlating compositions and structures with their properties. We illustrate two real world examples where traditional analytical methods including GPC and NMR failed to reveal compositional differences, but the combination of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS), and MS/MS can produce compositional information required for problem solving. The first example involves failure analysis of four ethylene oxide and propylene oxide (EO/PO) copolymer products. The results from the mass spectrometry analysis unequivocally demonstrate that one of the samples has a small variation in copolymer composition, leading to its abnormal activity. The second example is in the area of deformulation of complex polyol mixtures. Two samples displaying similar properties and activities were found to be two different polyol blends. One of the samples is a more cost-effective product. These examples demonstrate that MALDI, ESI MS, and MS/MS should be seriously considered as an integrated component of an overall polyol characterization program in product failure analysis and deformulation.

Sequencing of a branched peptide using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Chemical degradation methods combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and post-source decay (PSD)-MALDI reflex TOF mass spectrometry (MS) were used to determine the sequence of a peptide branched on to a known peptide backbone. This study was applied to a branched peptide model (derivative of substance P). The branched peptide mimics a digest of a membrane receptor on to which a derivative of substance P was photochemically linked. Chemical degradation based on N-terminal ladder sequencing in combination with MALDI-TOF-MS gave only partial sequence information. Although single PSD mass spectra still remain difficult to interpret unambiguously, PSD-MALDI-TOF-MS was combined with on-target acetylation and H -- D exchange to give a better and successful approach to the unambiguous determination of the complete amino acid side-chain sequence. This study shows the capability of MALDI-TOF-MS to help in characterizing ligand-receptor interactions.

Characterization of polyether and polyester polyurethane soft blocks using MALDI mass spectrometry

Selective degradation reactions combined with MALDI analysis have been applied for molecular weight (MW) determination of polyether and polyester polyurethane (PUR) soft blocks. Selective degradation allows recovery of the polyols, and direct observation of the soft block oligomer distribution is possible for the first time by using MALDI. Ethanolamine is applied for polyether PUR degradation. MALDI analysis indicates that the recovered polytetrahydrofuran (pTHF) MW distribution is nearly identical to the unreacted pTHF material. Reduction in the ethanolamine reaction time allows observation of oligomer ions containing the diisocyanate linkage, which provide identification of the diisocyanate. Ethanolamine is not used for polyester PUR's degradation because the ester bonds will be cleaved. Therefore, phenylisocyanate is applied for polyester PUR degradation. Polybutylene adipate (pBA) oligomers were directly observed in the MALDI spectra of the degraded pBA-PUR samples. Comparison of the degraded pBA-PUR oligomer distribution with the unreacted pBA material indicates that low-mass oligomers are less abundant in the degraded pBA-PURs. Oligomer ions containing the diisocyanate linkage are also observed in the spectrum, providing a means for identifying the diisocyanate used for PUR syntheses. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) was combined with MALDI to provide accurate MW determination. Narrow MW fractions of the degraded and unreacted polyols were collected and analyzed by MALDI. This method allows precise calibration of the SEC chromatogram. The SEC-MALDI results provide significantly larger Mw and PD values than MALDI alone. Using SEC-MALDI, it was determined that the PD indexes of the pTHF and pBA samples are larger than the assumed values, which are based on the polyol synthesis reactions. The combination of selective degradation with SEC-MALDI, using either ethanolamine or phenylisocyanate, is a viable method for polyurethane polyol characterization.

Comparison of mass spectrometric techniques for generating molecular weight information on a class of ethoxylated oligomers

The results of fast atom bombardment (FAB), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALD/I), electrospray ionization (ESI), and field desorption (FD) analyses of ethoxylated oligomers of 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol (Surfynol(®) 104) were compared.Each of these desorption mass spectrometry (MS) techniques can produce spectra of unfragmented cationized oligomers. From the observed ion series we calculate average molecular weight information. We have compared the results of mass spectrometric analyses of a series of ethoxylated Surfynol surfactants. Our data indicate that FAB, ToF-SIMS, MALDI/I, and ESI produce similar results for the lower molecular weight species, but that as the average molecular weight increases FAB and SIMS produce slightly lower results than MALD/I and FD. This could be due to increased fragmentation. ESI produced a result similar to FAB and SIMS for the highest average molecular weight material. Further experiments compare the mass spectral results with gas chromatographic quantitative data. Although gas chromatography is not expected to accurately analyze the higher mass oligomers, we observe significant differences in intensities of the short-chain oligomers (especially the 0- and 1-mers) when compared to the desorption mass spectrometer results. These differences may reflect poor cationization efficiency for very short oligomer chains in the mass spectrometric analyses.

Coupling of MALDI-TOF mass analysis to the separation of biotinylated peptides by magnetic streptavidin beads

Extraction of biotinylated peptides by streptavidin magnetic beads has been directly coupled to the MALDI-TOF mass analysis. The elution of peptides from the beads is achieved by first mixing the beads with the MALDI matrix solution and removing, after a few minutes, the beads with a magnet; then, the matrix solution containing the biotinylated peptide is directly mass analyzed by MALDI. Three examples are presented to show the capabilities of this procedure to detect biotinylated peptides present at very low concentrations in complex mixtures. Detection limits of less than 100 finol can be achieved. Such a coupling strategy is of great interest to investigate peptide/ protein interactions.