NEGATIVE-ION FAST-ATOM-BOMBARDMENT TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETRY FOR THE STRUCTURAL STUDY OF POLYETHER COMPOUNDS - STRUCTURAL VERIFICATION OF YESSOTOXIN

We have examined the applicability of tandem mass spectrometry to the structural elucidation of polyether compounds. The polyether toxin named yessotoxin was isolated from scallops which were implicated in food poisoning. The toxin consists of fused polycyclic ethers as does ciguatoxin, and bears two sulfate esters in the molecule. The negative-ion fast-atom bombardment tandem mass spectrum of the toxin showed a series of ions due to fragmentation at positions characteristic of cyclic ethers. With the mass spectrometric data alone, we succeeded in assigning the number and location of eleven ether rings in yessotoxin, which agreed with those previously deduced by nuclear magnetic resonance studies.