Action spectroscopy of gas-phase carboxylate anions by multiple photon IR electron detachment/attachment

We report on a form of gas-phase anion action spectroscopy based on infrared multiple photon electron detachment and subsequent capture of the free electrons by a neutral electron scavenger in a Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer. This method allows one to obtain background-free spectra of strongly bound anions, for which no dissociation channels are observed. The first gas-phase spectra of acetate and propionate are presented using SF6 as electron scavenger and a free electron laser as source of intense and tunable infrared radiation. To validate the method, we compare infrared spectra obtained through multiple photon electron detachment/attachment and multiple photon dissociation for the benzoate anion. In addition, different electron acceptors are used, comparing both associative and dissociative electron capture. The relative energies of dissociation (by CO2 loss) and electron detachment are investigated for all three anions by DFT and CCSD(T) methods. DFT calculations are also employed to predict vibrational frequencies, which provide a good fit to the infrared spectra observed. The frequencies of the symmetric and antisymmetric carboxylate stretching modes for the aliphatic carboxylates are compared to those previously observed in condensed-phase IR spectra and to those reported for gas-phase benzoate, showing a strong influence of the solution environment and a slight substituent effect on the antisymmetric stretch.Comment: Revised version, Submitted to J Phys Chem

Spectroscopic Evidence for an Oxazolone Structure in Anionic b-Type Peptide Fragments

Infrared spectra of anionic b-type fragments generated by collision induced dissociation (CID) from deprotonated peptides are reported. Spectra of the b2 fragments of deprotonated AlaAlaAla and AlaTyrAla have been recorded over the 800–1800 cm–1 spectral range by multiple-photon dissociation (MPD) spectroscopy using an FTICR mass spectrometer in combination with the free electron laser FELIX. Structural characterization of the b-type fragments is accomplished by comparison with density functional theory calculated spectra at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level for different isomeric structures. Although diketopiperazine structures represent the energetically lowest isomers, the IR spectra suggest an oxazolone structure for the b2 fragments of both peptides. Deprotonation is shown to occur on the oxazolone α-carbon, which leads to a conjugated structure in which the negative charge is practically delocalized over the entire oxazolone ring, providing enhanced gas-phase stability

Protomers of Benzocaine: Solvent and Permittivity Dependence

The immediate environment of a molecule can have a profound influence on its properties. Benzocaine, the ethyl ester of para-aminobenzoic acid, which finds an application as a local anesthetic (LA), is found to adopt in its protonated form at least two populations of distinct structures in the gas phase and their relative intensities strongly depend on the properties of the solvent used in the electrospray ionization (ESI) process. Here we combine IR-vibrational spectroscopy with ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to yield gas-phase IR spectra of simultaneously m/z and drift-time resolved species of benzocaine. The results allow for an unambiguous identification of two protomeric species - the N- and O-protonated form. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations link these structures to the most stable solution and gas-phase structures, respectively, with the electric properties of the surrounding medium being the main determinant for the preferred protonation site. The fact that the N-protonated form of benzocaine can be found in the gas phase is owed to kinetic trapping of the solution phase structure during transfer into the experimental setup. These observations confirm earlier studies on similar molecules where N- and O-protonation has been suggested

Probing the competition among different coordination motifs in metal-ciprofloxacin complexes through IRMPD spectroscopy and DFT calculations

The vibrational spectra of ciprofloxacin complexes with monovalent (Li+, Na+, K+, Ag+) and polyvalent (Mg2+, Al3+) metal ions are recorded in the range 1000-1900 cm(-1) by means of infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy. The IRMPD spectra are analyzed and interpreted in the light of density functional theory (DFT)-based quantum chemical calculations in order to identify the possible structures present under our experimental conditions. For each metal-ciprofloxacin complex, four isomers are predicted, considering different chelation patterns. A good agreement is found between the measured IRMPD spectrum and the calculated absorption spectrum of the most stable isomer for each complex. Metal ion size and charge are found to drive the competition among the different coordination motifs: small size and high charge density metal ions prefer to coordinate the quinolone between the two carbonyl oxygen atoms, whereas large-size metal ions prefer the carboxylate group as a coordination site. In the latter case, an intramolecular hydrogen bond compensates the weaker interaction established by these cations. The role of the metal cation on the stabilization of ionic and nonionic structures of ciprofloxacin is also investigated. It is found that large-size metal ions preferentially stabilize charge separated motifs and that the increase of metal ion charge has a stabilizing effect on the zwitterionic form of ciprofloxacin

Gas-Phase IR Spectroscopy of Deprotonated Amino Acids

Gas-phase infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectra have been recorded for the conjugate bases of a series of amino acids (Asp, Cys, Glu, Phe, Set, Trp, Tyr). The spectra are dominated by strong symmetric and antisymmetric carboxylate stretching modes around 1300 and 1600 cm(-1), respectively. Comparison of the experimental spectra with spectra calculated at the DFT level suggests a carboxylate structure for all species investigated, which is in contrast with what has recently been suggested in this journal for deprotonated cysteine [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 5403-5407]. In addition, the IR spectrum of the conjugate base of tyrosine is also unambiguously that of a carboxylate ion and not that of a phenoxide ion. In sharp contrast with the conjugate bases of other amino acids investigated here, the aspartate and glutamate anions show very broad, hardly resolved spectral features. We present qualitative experimental evidence indicating that this can be attributed to the formation of a proton bridge between the backbone and side chain carboxylate groups. The large amplitude motion of this shared proton, coupling to virtually all other vibrational modes, causes extensive spectral broadening

On the path to glycan conformer identification: Gas-phase study of the anomers of methyl glycosides of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and N-acetyl-d-galactosamine

The methyl glycosides of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (d-GlcNAc) and N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (d-GalNAc) have been used as model glycan analogs to study the effects of lithium cation binding on glycan structure in gas-phase experiments. Infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectra for the two Li+-complexed anomers of methyl-d-GlcNAc revealed a difference of 10 cm−1 between their respective carbonyl stretching band positions. A corresponding 11 cm−1 shift was observed for the two Li+-complexed anomers of methyl-d-GalNAc. Theoretical calculations indicate that the position of the methyl group (α and β, or axial and equatorial, respectively) on carbon 1 of the sugar and its close proximity to the carbonyl of the acetamido group on carbon 2 cause the average orientation of the carbonyl to change in order to minimize steric hindrance. This change in orientation is postulated to be the cause of the observed CO stretching band shift. The calculations also predict competitive binding of the lithium cation between two or more regions of d-GlcNAc and d-GalNAc. This is primarily due to differences in the spatial arrangement and orientation of lone pairs of electrons among the isomers, and stereochemical differences in hydrogen bonding. From an application point of view, differences in the infrared spectra of lithium adducts of acetamido sugars establish the value of variable-wavelength IRMPD as an alternative to fragmentation patterns in discriminating between these isomers