New explorations of in situ reactions of boron-containing compounds during fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry

✍ Scribed by Malcolm E. Rose; Matthew J. Webster

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 507 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1076-5174
• DOI: 10.1002/oms.1210240810

✦ Synopsis

Various reactions, intentional or unwanted, between several types of boron-containing compound and multifunctional nucleophiic substrates occurring on the probe tip can be examined in situ by negative-ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FABMS). Unwanted reactions of spiroborates with common liquid matrices can be avoided by using tetraethylene glycol diethyl ether as solvent for FABMS. Even so, the components of mixtures of spiroborates undergo ligand exchange with each other. Different orientations of hydroxy groups in isomeric diols, hydroxyacids and dicarboxylic acids can be differentiated by reaction on the probe tip with trialkyl borates, producing negatively charged spiroborates, or preferably with dibenzeneborinic acid ethanolamine complex. Successful reaction in the latter case can be assessed by observing the eliminated ethanolamine by positive-ion FABMS and formation of the corresponding negatively charged borate in the negative-ion mode. Potential applications of this methodology are discussed.