title: The effect of temperature on the stability of compounds used as UV-MALDI-MS matrix: 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone, alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, nor-harmane and harmane.
abstract: The thermal stability of several commonly used crystalline matrix-assisted ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (UV-MALDI-MS) matrices, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (gentisic acid; GA), 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone (THA), alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHC), 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (sinapinic acid; SA), 9H-pirido[3,4-b]indole (nor-harmane; nor-Ho), 1-methyl-9H-pirido[3,4-b]indole (harmane; Ho), perchlorate of nor-harmanonium ([nor-Ho+H]+) and perchlorate of harmanonium ([Ho+H]+) was studied by heating them at their melting point and characterizing the remaining material by using different MS techniques [electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS), ultraviolet laserdesorption/ionization-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UV-LDI-TOF-MS) and electrospray ionization-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS)] as well as by thin layer chromatography analysis (TLC), electronic spectroscopy (UV-absorption, fluorescence emission and excitation spectroscopy) and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR). In general, all compounds, except for CHC and SA, remained unchanged after fusion. CHC showed loss of CO2, yielding the trans-/cis-4-hydroxyphenylacrilonitrile mixture. This mixture was unambiguously characterized by MS and 1H-NMR spectroscopy, and its sublimation capability was demonstrated. These results explain the well-known cluster formation, fading (vanishing) and further recovering of CHC when used as a matrix in UV-MALDI-MS. Commercial SA (SA 98%; trans-SA/cis-SA 5:1) showed mainly cis- to-trans thermal isomerization and, with very poor yield, loss of CO2, yielding (3',5'-dimethoxy-4'-hydroxyphenyl)-1-ethene as the decarboxilated product. These thermal conversions would not drastically affect its behavior as a UV-MALDI matrix as happens in the case of CHC. Complementary studies of the photochemical stability of these matrices in solid state were also conducted.
authors.affiliation: CIHIDECAR-CONICET, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II, 3 degrees P, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428-Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Olga I
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Tarzi
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nonami
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Erra-Balsells
mesh_terms: D000098:Acetophenones / Q000737:chemistry; D002243:Carbolines; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D005841:Gentisates / Q000737:chemistry; D006247:Harmine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry; D006358:Hot Temperature; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D044367:Phase Transition; D010777:Photochemistry; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000098:Acetophenones; D002243:Carbolines; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D005841:Gentisates; C007175:alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate; D006247:Harmine; C073734:sinapinic acid; C005010:harman; C107067:2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone; C010262:norharman; C010925:2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid