Carbohydrate mass spectrometry

Natural carbohydrates, mass spectrometry in structural analysis of, 29, 41—106 Neighboring-group participation, in sugars, 22, 109-175... 

Practical applications are again stressed in the Chapter by Lonngren and Svensson (Stockholm) on Mass Spectrometry in Stmctural Analysis of Natural Carbohydrates. They build on the fundamentals of carbohydrate mass spectrometry, as laid down by Kochetkov and Chizhov in Volume 21, and demonstrate the profound analytical value of mass spectrometry for structural analysis of complex polysaccharides. In particular, this tool has dramatically increased the scope of the traditional methylation linkage-analysis procedure, especially when used in conjunction with gas-liquid chromatographic methods of separation. The latter topic is the subject of complementary Chapters by Dutton, one already published in Volume 28 and the other scheduled for publication in Volume 30. 

Harvey DJ (1999) Matrix-assisted laser desotprion/ioniza-tion mass spectrometry of carbohydrates. Mass Spectrometry Reviews 18 349—450. 

Present day techniques for structure determination in carbohydrate chemistry are sub stantially the same as those for any other type of compound The full range of modern instrumental methods including mass spectrometry and infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is brought to bear on the problem If the unknown substance is crystalline X ray diffraction can provide precise structural information that m the best cases IS equivalent to taking a three dimensional photograph of the molecule... 

A number of reviews of mass spectra of carbohydrates have been published from which references to the original papers are available (4, 9, 11, 24, 26). The application of mass spectrometry to this field was initially limited by the relatively low volatility of free carbohydrates and by the complex spectra obtained from some derivatives. These limitations have been partially overcome by new inlet techniques and by pioneering studies on classes and derivatives in order to understand the characteristic fragmentations and rearrangements of the molecular ions of a wide range of carbohydrates. 

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