Electron ionization mass spectrometric study of monomeric models of O-polysaccharides of Vibrio cholerae O:1, serotypes Ogawa and Inaba.

Fragmentation mechanisms of electron ionization (EI) mass spectrometry of the title compounds have been elucidated by high-resolution (HR) mass spectrometric measurements of the elemental composition and measurements of the metastable transitions (B(2)/E, CID). The experimental results were interpreted with the help of Mass Frontier 3.0 software, which aided the elucidation of fragmentation mechanisms and helped to deduce structures of the ions formed. Characteristic under the conditions of EI-MS measurement was the production of protonated adducts. Three distinct pathways observed include the formation of oxonium type ions, the conjugated transfer of electrons in the pyranose ring, and cleavage of the acylamide side chains. By applying the results obtained, the molecular mass, as well as the structures of both the saccharide and acylamide side chain involved in related substances, can be determined. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.