Ion/molecule reactions with dimethyl ether and dimethyl-d6 ether: differentiation of four isomers contained in patchouli essential oil

In this study, we show that it is possible to differentiate four sesquiterpene isomers (C(15)H(24)) preliminarily separated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Dimethyl ether is evaluated as a selective ionization reagent and the relative abundance of adducts formed with this reagent gas under positive chemical ionization conditions are compared and adduct ions are characterized using collision-induced dissociation. The mechanisms have been confirmed by achieving the same experiments with deuterated dimethyl ether. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.