title: [Electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry of eight aminoglycoside antibiotics].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the dissociation pathways of aminoglycoside antibiotics.
  
  
  METHODS
  In positive mode, eight aminoglycoside antibiotics were elucidated by use of electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry in the multi-stage MS full scan mode.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was demonstrated that the eight aminoglycoside antibiotics gave abundant product ions at m/z 322 (gentamicin, micronomicin and sisomicin), m/z 350 (etimicin, netilmicin and vetilmicin) and m/z 324 (kanamycin and tobramycin) by loss of the C-ring (amino-alpha-D-glucopyranose) in MS2 full scan mode. In MS3 full scan mode, the prominent fragmentation ions at m/z 163 as well as m/z 191 were formed from the fragmentation ions at m/z 322, m/z 350 and m/z 324 by loss of the A-ring (amino-alpha-D-glucopyranose), separately, while the characteristic fragmentation ions at m/z 160 as well as m/z 162 were formed from m/z 322, m/z 350 and m/z 324 by loss of the B-ring (2-deoxy-D-streptamine), separately.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The structural information was obtained via collision-activated dissociation and these characteristics are applicable to the structural elucidation and quantitative analysis of aminoglycoside compounds.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China.
authors.forename: Mao-jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Da-fang
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Yu-ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Chang-xiao
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000617:Aminoglycosides / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D014031:Tobramycin / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000617:Aminoglycosides; D005839:Gentamicins; C487733:vertilmicin; D014031:Tobramycin