The fragmentation behavior of deprotonated L-phenylalanine (Phe) and its homologues including L-homophenylalanine (HPA) and L-phenylglycine (PG) was investigated using collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry coupled with a negative ion atmospheric pressure corona discharge ionization (APCDI) technique. The deprotonated molecules [M-H](-) fragmented to lose unique neutral species, e.g., the loss of NH3, CO2, toluene and iminoglycine for [Phe-H](-); styrene and ethenamine/CO2 for [HPA-H](-); and CO2 for [PG-H](-). All of the fragmentations observed are attributable to the formation of intermediates and/or product ions which include benzyl carbanions having resonance-stabilized structures. The carbanions are formed via proton rearrangement through a transition state or via a simple dissociation reaction. These results suggest that the principal factor governing the fragmentation behavior of deprotonated Phe homologues is the stability of the intermediate and/or product ion structures.
Keywords: atmospheric pressure corona discharge ionization (APCDI); benzyl carbanion; collision-induced dissociation (CID); fragmentation; phenylalanine homologues.