title: Differentiation of enantiomers using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.
abstract: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) has successfully been used to differentiate pseudo-enantiomeric (isotopically labelled) amino acids by using cyclodextrin as complexing host. By using different pseudo-enantiomeric mixtures (i.e. R(Dn) + S; and R + S(Dn)), it has been demonstrated that the preference of cyclodextrin for S-enantiomers is not due to the size differences caused by the hydrogen/deuterium substitution. It is postulated that this method can be extended to differentiate enantiomers (and determine enantiomeric excess) by using a pair of enantiomeric hosts, as demonstrated previously using other ionization techniques, but with much higher sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003505:Cyclodextrins / Q000737:chemistry; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D003505:Cyclodextrins