Radical anions for electron transfer dissociation
AssigneeBruker Daltonik GmbH
InventorRalf Hartmer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Radical anions for use in the fragmentation of positively charged biopolymer ions by means of electron transfer are produced from substances previously unknown for use as ETD production substances. The inventive substances produce radical anions that lead to electron transfer dissociations with a high yield of fragment ions. The substances have high volatility that allows them to be kept in unheated containers outside the vacuum system and transported into the vacuum system to an in vacuum electron attachment ion source via unheated lines and low molecular weights that allow the measurement of even very light fragment ions. In one embodiment, a suitable substance is 1-3-5-7-cyclooctatetraene.
Claims15
A method for the production of radical anions for electron transfer dissociation of biopolymers in mass spectrometers, comprising producing radical anions from an aliphatic compound with an electron affinity between 0.3 and 0.8 electronvolt.
A mass spectrometer having a vacuum system and comprising:
- an electron attachment ion source that is located inside the vacuum system and produces radical anions for electron transfer dissociation of biopolymers from a substance;
- a container for the substance that is located outside the vacuum system;
- and
- a transport system for transporting the substance from the container to the electron attachment ion source.
A method for producing electron transfer dissociation of positively-charged analyte ions in mass spectrometers, comprising:
- (a) generating radical anions from an aliphatic substance with an electron affinity between 0.3 and 0.8 electronvolts;
- and
- (b) bringing the positively-charged analyte ions into association with the radical anions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.