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Particle beam glow discharge mass spectrometry: spectral characteristics of nucleobases
Author(s) -
Davis W. Clay,
Venzie Jacob L.,
Willis Bert,
Coffee R. Lane,
Arya Dev P.,
Marcus R. Kenneth
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.1117
Subject(s) - chemistry , nucleobase , mass spectrum , thymine , guanine , mass spectrometry , fragmentation (computing) , analytical chemistry (journal) , ion source , analyte , nucleotide , cytosine , chromatography , ion , dna , organic chemistry , biochemistry , computer science , gene , operating system
Abstract Use of a particle beam glow discharge (PB‐GD) source for mass spectrometric determinations of deoxy‐ and ribonucleosides and nucleotides is described. Use of this combination of sample introduction and ion source decouples the vaporization and ionization steps, leading to very simple spectral structure. The mass spectra of these compounds are EI‐like in nature, with clearly identified molecular ions and fragmentation patterns that are easily rationalized. The PB‐GDMS combination can be operated in a flow injection mode wherein the analyte is injected directly into the solvent flow, or can also be coupled to a high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system allowing LC/MS analysis of mixtures. Mass spectra obtained for nucleic acid bases, nucleosides, and nucleotides are readily obtained with injections of low‐nanomole quantities. Representative PB‐GDMS spectra for deoxy‐ and ribonucleosides, nucleotides, and mixed‐base oligonucleotides are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the GD source. Characteristic fragmentation peaks from the spectra of adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine were identified in 22‐base sequences of single‐stranded DNA. The PB‐GD source is capable of producing spectra that may be used to identify the individual bases present in mixed‐base DNA and RNA fragments. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.