ANALYSIS OF SULFONATES IN AQUEOUS SAMPLES BY ION-PAIR LC/ESI-MS/MS WITH IN-SOURCE CID FOR ADDUCT PEAK ELIMINATION

Abstract

Determination of low-molecular-weight organic sulfonates (e.g. taurine and cysteic acid) in aqueous solutions is important in many applications of biological, environmental and pharmaceutical sciences. These compounds are difficult to be determined by commonly used reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separation combined with UV-Visible detection because of their high solubility and the lack chromophoric moieties. Here the authors report a method combining ion-pair liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (IPLC/ESI-MS/MS)for determining sulfonates. The ability of low-molecular-weight sulfonates to form ion-pairs with quaternary ammonium cations in aqueous solutions allowed LC separation with a C{sub 18} column. Detection of the sulfonates was accomplished with ESI-MS that lends a universal mode of mass detection for polar, water soluble compounds. An in-source collision induced dissociation (CID) was applied to eliminate the adduct peaks in mass spectra. Characteristic marker ions showed in the second stage mass spectra lent a method for identifying sulfonates