Fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry of carotenoids
- Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States)
- North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
Positive ion fast atom bombardment (FAB) tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) using a double-focusing mass spectrometer with linked scanning at constant B/E and high-energy collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) was used to differentiate 17 different cartenoids, including {beta}-apo-8{prime}- carotenal, astaxanthin, {alpha}-carotene, {beta}-carotene, {gamma}-carotene, {zeta}-carotene, canthaxanthin, {beta}-cryptoxanthin, isozeaxanthin bis (pelargonate), neoxanthin, neurosporene, nonaprene, lutein, lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene, and zeaxanthin. The carotenoids were either synthetic or isolated from plant tissues. The use of FAB ionization minimized degradation or rearrangement of the carotenoid structures due to the inherent thermal instability generally ascribed to these compounds. Instead of protonated molecules, both polar xanthophylls and nonpolar carotenes formed molecular ions, M{sup {center_dot}+}, during FAB ionization. Following collisionally activated dissociation, fragment ions of selected molecular ion precursors showed structural features indicative of the presence of hydroxyl groups, ring systems, ester groups, and aldehyde groups and the extent of aliphatic polyene conjugation. The fragmentation patterns observed in the mass spectra herein may be used as a reference for the structural determination of carotenoids isolated from plant and animal tissues. 18 refs., 4 figs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 96379
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 43, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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