Evaluation of electrospray transport CID for the generation of searchable libraries.

This paper reports the preliminary investigation of performance-based standard conditions that have been developed for electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Using performance-based standard criteria, reproducible spectra can be obtained by CID in the electrospray-transport region and searched using a database created using the same performance criteria. To generate library-searchable mass spectra, the instrument was tuned to standard conditions that correspond to low, mid, and high fragmentation energies. The instrument was tuned using ion ratios relative to a given peak in a tune compound for each energy level. The library was evaluated using a set of 22 benzodiazepines. The CID libraries were found to be reproducible, both on the same instrument and on different instruments of the same type. Also, the libraries were found to be independent of flow rate and solvent system. The library was expanded to include 16 sulfonylurea herbicides and tested using spiked water samples. Performance of the library was tested over a concentration range of 2 orders of magnitude using sulfonylurea standards.