Gas phase reactions of doubly charged alkaline earth and transition metal(II)-ligand complexes generated by electrospray ionization

Doubly charged metal(II)-complexes of alpha 1-3, alpha 1-6 mannotriose and the conserved trimannosyl core pentasaccharide as well as doubly charged complexes of Co(II), Mn(II), Ca(II) and Sr(II) with acetonitrile generated by electrospray ionization were studied by low energy collision induced dissociation (CID). Two main fragmentation pathways were observed for the metal(II)-oligosaccharide complexes. Regardless of the coordinating metal, loss of a neutral dehydrohexose residue (162 Da) from the doubly charged precursor ion is observed, forming a doubly charged product ion. However, if the oligosaccharide is coordinated to Co(II) or Mn(II), loss of a dehydroxyhexose cation is also observed. Investigation of the low mass region of the mass spectra of the metal coordinated oligosaccharides revealed intense signals corresponding to [metal(II) + (CH3CN)(n)](2+) (where n = 1-6) species which were being formed by the metal(II) ions and the acetonitrile present in the sample. Analysis of these metal(II)-acetonitrile complexes provided further insight into the processes occurring upon low energy CID of doubly charged metal complexes. The metal(II)-acetonitrile system showed neutral loss and ligand cleavage as observed with the oligosaccharide complexes, as well as a series of six different dissociation mechanisms, most notable among them reduction from [metal(II) + (CH3CN)(n)](2+) to the bare [metal(I)](+) species by electron transfer. Depending on the metal and collision gas chosen, one observes electron transfer from the ligand to the metal, electron transfer from the collision gas to the metal, proton transfer between ligands, heterolytic cleavage of the ligands, reactive collisions and loss of neutral ligands. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.