Analysis of perfluoroalkyl anion fragmentation pathways for perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and sulfonates during liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry: evidence for fluorine migration prior to secondary and tertiary fragmentation.

It is known that under liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ES-MS/MS) conditions, the perfluorocarboxylate anion [R(F)CO(2)](-) first loses CO(2) to give a perfluoroalkyl anion R(F)(-), [(M-H)-CO(2)](-), which can subsequently fragment to give inter alia lower mass carbanions. It has been suggested in a previous study that such secondary fragmentation involves cleavage of C(n)F(2n) segments. Our study of the LC/ES-MS/MS of a series of (13)C-labeled perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) indicates that fragmentation of the R(F)(-) anion does not involve simple 'unzipping' of a primary perfluoroalkyl anion of the type F(3)C(CF(2))(x)CF(2)(-). For example, we have discovered that the secondary transition for the mass-labeled PFOA, perfluoro-1,2,3,4-(13)C(4)-octanoic acid (MPFOA), gives two signals of equal intensity at m/z 169 and 172. We propose a mechanism of fragmentation that involves rapid fluorine shifts, after the initial decarboxylation, which generate a series of new anions prior to secondary and tertiary fragmentation. Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.