Exploring the scaling factors for infrared modes of PANHs - A case study on cationic 3-Azafluoranthene.+ and protonated 3-Azafluoranthene.

Infrared (IR) emission bands by interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Nitrogen Heterocycles (PANHs) are observed towards a large variety of interstellar objects and offer detailed insights into the chemistry and physics of the interstellar medium. The analysis of the emission bands, and thus the interpretation of the molecular characteristics of the carriers, heavily relies on the use of density functional theory (DFT) calculated IR spectra. However, there are significant challenges in accurately predicting the experimental IR band positions, particularly for PANH emission vibrational modes around 6 mm. In this work, we present gas-phase mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectra of cationic 3-azafluoranthene (3AF.+) and protonated 3-azafluoranthene (3AFH+) to investigate their experimental IR band positions in relation to DFT calculated bands. The experimental spectra are compared to DFT simulated spectra, where different approaches were followed to correct for anharmonicities. The best agreement is achieved by scaling frequencies of modes with large nitrogen displacements with a different factor. Even though our findings might be limited to a small number of PANH structures, they indicate, that nitrogen atom incorporation needs to be accounted for by carefully adjusting the corresponding scaling factors while computing IR spectra of PANHs on DFT level.

Taming Conformational Heterogeneity on Ion Racetrack to Unveil Principles that Drive Membrane Permeation of Cyclosporines.

Our study reveals the underlying principles governing the passive membrane permeability in three large N-methylated macrocyclic peptides (N-MeMPs): cyclosporine A (CycA), Alisporivir (ALI), and cyclosporine H (CycH). We determine a series of conformers required for robust passive membrane diffusion and those relevant to other functions, such as binding to protein targets or intermediates, in the presence of solvent additives. We investigate the conformational interconversions and establish correlations with the membrane permeability. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and cyclic ion-mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (cIMS-MS) are employed to characterize conformational heterogeneity and identify cis-amides relevant for good membrane permeability. In addition, ion mobility selected cIMS-MS and infrared (IR) multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy experiments are conducted to evaluate the energy barriers between conformations. We observe that CycA and ALI, both cyclosporines with favorable membrane permeabilities, display multiple stable and well-defined conformers. In contrast, CycH, an epimer of CycA with limited permeability, exhibits fewer and fewer stable conformers. We demonstrate the essential role of the conformational shift from the aqueous cis MeVal11-MeBmt1 state (A1) to the closed conformation featuring cis MeLeu9-MeLeu10 (C1) in facilitating membrane permeation. Additionally, we highlight that the transition from A1 to the all-trans open conformation (O1) is specifically triggered by the presence of CaCl2. We also capture a set of conformers with cis Sar3-MeLeu4, MeLeu9-MeLeu10, denoted as I. Conformationally selected cIMS-MS and IRMPD data of [CycA+Ca]2+ show immediate repopulation of the original population distribution, suggesting that CaCl2 smooths out the energy barriers. Finally, our work presents an improved sampling molecular dynamics approach based on a refined force field that not only consistently and accurately captures established conformers of cyclosporines but also exhibits strong predictive capabilities for novel conformers.

Experimental comparison of cylindrical and plane parallel ionization chambers for reference dosimetry in continuous and pulsed scanned proton beams.

Objective. In this experimental work we compared the determination of absorbed dose to water using four ionization chambers (ICs), a PTW-34045 Advanced Markus, a PTW-34001 Roos, an IBA-PPC05 and a PTW-30012 Farmer, irradiated under the same conditions in one continuous- and in two pulsed-scanned proton beams.Approach. The ICs were positioned at 2 cm depth in a water phantom in four square-field single-energy scanned-proton beams with nominal energies between 80 and 220 MeV and in the middle of 10 × 10 × 10 cm3dose cubes centered at 10 cm or 12.5 cm depth in water. The water-equivalent thickness (WET) of the entrance window and the effective point of measurement was considered when positioning the plane parallel (PP) ICs and the cylindrical ICs, respectively. To reduce uncertainties, all ICs were calibrated at the same primary standards laboratory. We used the beam quality (kQ) correction factors for the ICs under investigation from IAEA TRS-398, the newly calculated Monte Carlo (MC) values and the anticipated IAEA TRS-398 updated recommendations.Main results. Dose differences among the four ICs ranged between 1.5% and 3.7% using both the TRS-398 and the newly recommendedkQvalues. The spread among the chambers is reduced with the newlykQvalues. The largest differences were observed between the rest of the ICs and the IBA-PPC05 IC, obtaining lower dose with the IBA-PPC05.Significance. We provide experimental data comparing different types of chambers in different proton beam qualities. The observed dose differences between the ICs appear to be related to inconsistencies in the determination of thekQvalues. For PP ICs, MC studies account for the physical thickness of the entrance window rather than the WET. The additional energy loss that the wall material invokes is not negligible for the IBA-PPC05 and might partially explain the lowkQvalues determined for this IC. To resolve this inconsistency and to benchmark MC values,kQvalues measured using calorimetry are needed.

Development of Nontargeted Workflow of Occupational Exposure by Infrared Ion Spectroscopy and Silicone Wristbands' Passive Sampling.

A new approach using orthogonal analytical techniques is developed for chemical identification. High resolution mass spectrometry and infrared ion spectroscopy are applied through a 5-level confidence paradigm to demonstrate the effectiveness of nontargeted workflow for the identification of hazardous organophosphates. Triphenyl phosphate is used as a surrogate organophosphate for occupational exposure, and silicone wristbands are used to represent personal samplers. Spectral data of a target compound is combined with spectral data of the sodium adduct and quantum chemical calculations to achieve a confirmed identification. Here, we demonstrate a nontargeted workflow that identifies organophosphate exposure and provides a mechanism for selecting validated methods for quantitative analyses.

Characterization of elusive rhamnosyl dioxanium ions and their application in complex oligosaccharide synthesis.

Attaining complete anomeric control is still one of the biggest challenges in carbohydrate chemistry. Glycosyl cations such as oxocarbenium and dioxanium ions are key intermediates of glycosylation reactions. Characterizing these highly-reactive intermediates and understanding their glycosylation mechanisms are essential to the stereoselective synthesis of complex carbohydrates. Although C-2 acyl neighbouring-group participation has been well-studied, the reactive intermediates in more remote participation remain elusive and are challenging to study. Herein, we report a workflow that is utilized to characterize rhamnosyl 1,3-bridged dioxanium ions derived from C-3 p-anisoyl esterified donors. First, we use a combination of quantum-chemical calculations and infrared ion spectroscopy to determine the structure of the cationic glycosylation intermediate in the gas-phase. In addition, we establish the structure and exchange kinetics of highly-reactive, low-abundance species in the solution-phase using chemical exchange saturation transfer, exchange spectroscopy, correlation spectroscopy, heteronuclear single-quantum correlation, and heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Finally, we apply C-3 acyl neighbouring-group participation to the synthesis of complex bacterial oligosaccharides. This combined approach of finding answers to fundamental physical-chemical questions and their application in organic synthesis provides a robust basis for elucidating highly-reactive intermediates in glycosylation reactions.

Fluorinated Propionic Acids Unmasked: Puzzling Fragmentation Phenomena of the Deprotonated Species.

Environmental contamination by per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) is an emerging concern for the public. In this study, short-chain PFAS such as deprotonated per- and polyfluorinated propionic acids are investigated using a combination of infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy, collision-induced dissociation (CID), and density functional theory calculations. IRMPD and CID proceed via multiple competing pathways: (1) production of fluoroformate (FCO2-) and the associated ethylene derivative, (2) production of HF and the associated carbanion, or (3) loss of CO2 and the associated carbanion. Fluorinated propionic acids with at least one fluorine atom bound to the terminal carbon yield FCO2-, whereas loss of HF is observed in polyfluorinated species with at least one fluorine atom bound to the α-carbon. To explore the reaction pathways of the various fluorinated propionic acids, the nudged elastic band method is employed. The relative energy of the four-membered ring transition state leading to FCO2- dictates which product channel is observed in dissociation.

A spectroscopic test suggests that fragment ion structure annotations in MS/MS libraries are frequently incorrect.

Modern untargeted mass spectrometry (MS) analyses quickly detect and resolve thousands of molecular compounds. Although features are readily annotated with a molecular formula in high-resolution small-molecule MS applications, the large majority of them remains unidentified in terms of their full molecular structure. Collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (CID-MS2) provides a diagnostic molecular fingerprint to resolve the molecular structure through a library search. However, for de novo identifications, one must often rely on in silico generated MS2 spectra as reference. The ability of different in silico algorithms to correctly predict MS2 spectra and thus to retrieve correct molecular structures is a topic of lively debate, for instance in the CASMI contest. Underlying the predicted MS2 spectra are the in silico generated product ion structures, which are normally not used in de novo identification, but which can serve to critically assess the fragmentation algorithms. Here we evaluate in silico generated MSn product ion structures by comparison with structures established experimentally by infrared ion spectroscopy (IRIS). For a set of three dozen product ion structures from five precursor molecules, we find that virtually all fragment ion structure annotations in three major in silico MS2 libraries (HMDB, METLIN, mzCloud) are incorrect and caution the reader against their use for structure annotation of MS/MS ions.

Anomeric Triflates versus Dioxanium Ions: Different Product-Forming Intermediates from 3-Acyl Benzylidene Mannosyl and Glucosyl Donors.

Minimal structural differences in the structure of glycosyl donors can have a tremendous impact on their reactivity and the stereochemical outcome of their glycosylation reactions. Here, we used a combination of systematic glycosylation reactions, the characterization of potential reactive intermediates, and in-depth computational studies to study the disparate behavior of glycosylation systems involving benzylidene glucosyl and mannosyl donors. While these systems have been studied extensively, no satisfactory explanations are available for the differences observed between the 3-O-benzyl/benzoyl mannose and glucose donor systems. The potential energy surfaces of the different reaction pathways available for these donors provide an explanation for the contrasting behavior of seemingly very similar systems. Evidence has been provided for the intermediacy of benzylidene mannosyl 1,3-dioxanium ions, while the formation of the analogous 1,3-glucosyl dioxanium ions is thwarted by a prohibitively strong flagpole interaction of the C-2-O-benzyl group with the C-5 proton in moving toward the transition state, in which the glucose ring adopts a B2,5-conformation. This study provides an explanation for the intermediacy of 1,3-dioxanium ions in the mannosyl system and an answer to why these do not form from analogous glucosyl donors.

Structural Elucidation of Agrochemical Metabolic Transformation Products Based on Infrared Ion Spectroscopy to Improve In Silico Toxicity Assessment.

Toxicological assessments of newly developed agrochemical agents consider chemical modifications and their metabolic and biotransformation products. To carry out an in silico hazard assessment, understanding the type of chemical modification and its location on the original compound can greatly enhance the reliability of the evaluation. Here, we present and apply a method based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) enhanced with infrared ion spectroscopy (IRIS) to better delineate the molecular structures of transformation products before in silico toxicology evaluation. IRIS facilitates the recording of IR spectra directly in the mass spectrometer for features selected by retention time and mass-to-charge ratio. By utilizing quantum-chemically predicted IR spectra for candidate molecular structures, one can either derive the actual structure or significantly reduce the number of (isomeric) candidate structures. This approach can assist in making informed decisions. We apply this method to a plant growth stimulant, digeraniol sinapoyl malate (DGSM), that is currently under development. Incubation of the compound in Caco-2 and HepaRG cell lines in multiwell plates and analysis by LC-MS reveals oxidation, glucuronidation, and sulfonation metabolic products, whose structures were elucidated by IRIS and used as input for an in silico toxicology assessment. The toxicity of isomeric metabolites predicted by in silico tools was also assessed, which revealed that assigning the right metabolite structure is an important step in the overall toxicity assessment of the agrochemical. We believe this identification approach can be advantageous when specific isomers are significantly more hazardous than others and can help better understand metabolic pathways.

Correlated proton dynamics in hydrogen bonding networks: the benchmark case of 3-hydroxyglutaric acid.

Proton and hydrogen-bonded networks sustain a broad range of structural and charge transfer processes in supramolecular materials. The modelling of proton dynamics is however challenging and demands insights from prototypical benchmark systems. The intramolecular H-bonding networks induced by either protonation or deprotonation of 3-hydroxyglutaric acid provide intriguing case studies of correlated proton dynamics. The vibrational signatures associated with the fluxional proton bonding and its coupling with the hydroxyglutaric backbone are investigated here with infrared action ion spectroscopy experiments and Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) computations. Despite the formally similar symmetry of protonated and deprotonated hydroxyglutaric acid, the relative proton affinities of the oxygen centers of the carboxylic and carboxylate groups with respect to that of the central hydroxyl group lead to distinct proton dynamics. In the protonated acid, a tautomeric arrangement of the type HOCO·[HOH]+·OCOH is preferred with the proton binding tighter to the central hydroxyl moiety and the electronic density being shared between the two nearly symmetric H-bonds with the carboxylic end groups. In the deprotonated acid, the asymmetric [OCO]-·HO·HOCO configuration is more stable, with a stronger H-bonding on the bare carboxylate end. Both systems display active backbone dynamics and concerted Grothuss-like proton motions, leading to diffuse band structures in their vibrational spectra. These features are accurately reproduced by the BOMD computations.

Identification of organic micro-pollutants in surface water using MS-based infrared ion spectroscopy.

Comprehensive monitoring of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) in drinking water sources relies on non-target screening (NTS) using liquid-chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Identification of OMPs is typically based on accurate mass and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data by matching against entries in compound databases and MS/MS spectral libraries. MS/MS spectra are, however, not always diagnostic for the full molecular structure and, moreover, emerging OMPs or OMP transformation products may not be present in libraries. Here we demonstrate how infrared ion spectroscopy (IRIS), an emerging MS-based method for structural elucidation, can aid in the identification of OMPs. IRIS measures the IR spectrum of an m/z-isolated ion in a mass spectrometer, providing an orthogonal diagnostic for molecular identification. Here, we demonstrate the workflow for identification of OMPs in river water and show how quantum-chemically predicted IR spectra can be used to screen potential candidates and suggest structural assignments. A crucial step herein is to define a set of candidate structures, presumably including the actual OMP, for which we present several strategies based on domain knowledge, the IR spectrum and MS/MS spectrum.

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency in mice and in humans: An untargeted metabolomics perspective.

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (SSADHD) is a rare neurometabolic disorder caused by disruption of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathway. A more detailed understanding of its pathophysiology, beyond the accumulation of GABA and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), will increase our understanding of the disease and may support novel therapy development. To this end, we compared biochemical body fluid profiles from SSADHD patients with controls using next-generation metabolic screening (NGMS). Targeted analysis of NGMS data from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed a moderate increase of aspartic acid, glutaric acid, glycolic acid, 4-guanidinobutanoic acid, and 2-hydroxyglutaric acid, and prominent elevations of GHB and 4,5-dihydroxyhexanoic acid (4,5-DHHA) in SSADHD samples. Remarkably, the intensities of 4,5-DHHA and GHB showed a significant positive correlation in control CSF, but not in patient CSF. In an established zebrafish epilepsy model, 4,5-DHHA showed increased mobility that may reflect limited epileptogenesis. Using untargeted metabolomics, we identified 12 features in CSF with high biomarker potential. These had comparable increased fold changes as GHB and 4,5-DHHA. For 10 of these features, a similar increase was found in plasma, urine and/or mouse brain tissue for SSADHD compared to controls. One of these was identified as the novel biomarker 4,5-dihydroxyheptanoic acid. The intensities of selected features in plasma and urine of SSADHD patients positively correlated with the clinical severity score of epilepsy and psychiatric symptoms of those patients, and also showed a high mutual correlation. Our findings provide new insights into the (neuro)metabolic disturbances in SSADHD and give leads for further research concerning SSADHD pathophysiology.

Unusual Actinyl Complexes with a Redox-Active N,S-Donor Ligand.

Understanding the fundamental chemistry of soft N,S-donor ligands with actinides across the series is critical for separation science toward sustainable nuclear energy. This task is particularly challenging when the ligands are redox active. We herein report a series of actinyl complexes with a N,S-donor redox-active ligand that stabilizes different oxidation states across the actinide series. These complexes are isolated and characterized in the gas phase, along with high-level electronic structure studies. The redox-active N,S-donor ligand in the products, C5H4NS, acts as a monoanion in [UVIO2(C5H4NS-)]+ but as a neutral radical with unpaired electrons localized on the sulfur atom in [NpVO2(C5H4NS•)]+ and [PuVO2(C5H4NS•)]+, resulting in different oxidation states for uranium and transuranic elements. This is rationalized by considering the relative energy levels of actinyl(VI) 5f orbitals and S 3p lone pair orbitals of the C5H4NS- ligand and the cooperativity between An-N and An-S bonds that provides additional stability for the transuranic elements.

Distinguishing Oligosaccharide Isomers Using Far-Infrared Ion Spectroscopy: Identification of Biomarkers for Inborn Errors of Metabolism.

Distinguishing isomeric saccharides poses a major challenge for analytical workflows based on (liquid chromatography) mass spectrometry (LC-MS). In recent years, many studies have proposed infrared ion spectroscopy as a possible solution as the orthogonal, spectroscopic characterization of mass-selected ions can often distinguish isomeric species that remain unresolved using conventional MS. However, the high conformational flexibility and extensive hydrogen bonding in saccharides cause their room-temperature fingerprint infrared spectra to have broad features that often lack diagnostic value. Here, we show that room-temperature infrared spectra of ion-complexed saccharides recorded in the previously unexplored far-infrared wavelength range (300-1000 cm-1) provide well-resolved and highly diagnostic features. We show that this enables distinction of isomeric saccharides that differ either by their composition of monosaccharide units and/or the orientation of their glycosidic linkages. We demonstrate the utility of this approach from single monosaccharides up to isomeric tetrasaccharides differing only by the configuration of a single glycosidic linkage. Furthermore, through hyphenation with hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, we identify oligosaccharide biomarkers in patient body fluid samples, demonstrating a generalized and highly sensitive MS-based method for the identification of saccharides found in complex sample matrices.

An In Silico Infrared Spectral Library of Molecular Ions for Metabolite Identification.

Infrared ion spectroscopy (IRIS) continues to see increasing use as an analytical tool for small-molecule identification in conjunction with mass spectrometry (MS). The IR spectrum of an m/z selected population of ions constitutes a unique fingerprint that is specific to the molecular structure. However, direct translation of an IR spectrum to a molecular structure remains challenging, as reference libraries of IR spectra of molecular ions largely do not exist. Quantum-chemically computed spectra can reliably be used as reference, but the challenge of selecting the candidate structures remains. Here, we introduce an in silico library of vibrational spectra of common MS adducts of over 4500 compounds found in the human metabolome database. In total, the library currently contains more than 75,000 spectra computed at the DFT level that can be queried with an experimental IR spectrum. Moreover, we introduce a database of 189 experimental IRIS spectra, which is employed to validate the automated spectral matching routines. This demonstrates that 75% of the metabolites in the experimental data set are correctly identified, based solely on their exact m/z and IRIS spectrum. Additionally, we demonstrate an approach for specifically identifying substructures by performing a search without m/z constraints to find structural analogues. Such an unsupervised search paves the way toward the de novo identification of unknowns that are absent in spectral libraries. We apply the in silico spectral library to identify an unknown in a plasma sample as 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid, highlighting the potential of the method.

Hydrogen Bonding Shuts Down Tunneling in Hydroxycarbenes: A Gas-Phase Study by Tandem-Mass Spectrometry, Infrared Ion Spectroscopy, and Theory.

Hydroxycarbenes can be generated and structurally characterized in the gas phase by collision-induced decarboxylation of α-keto carboxylic acids, followed by infrared ion spectroscopy. Using this approach, we have shown earlier that quantum-mechanical hydrogen tunneling (QMHT) accounts for the isomerization of a charge-tagged phenylhydroxycarbene to the corresponding aldehyde in the gas phase and above room temperature. Herein, we report the results of our current study on aliphatic trialkylammonio-tagged systems. Quite unexpectedly, the flexible 3-(trimethylammonio)propylhydroxycarbene turned out to be stable─no H-shift to either aldehyde or enol occurred. As supported by density functional theory calculations, this novel QMHT inhibition is due to intramolecular H-bonding of a mildly acidic α-ammonio C-H bonds to the hydroxyl carbene's C-atom (C:···H-C). To further support this hypothesis, (4-quinuclidinyl)hydroxycarbenes were synthesized, whose rigid structure prevents this intramolecular H-bonding. The latter hydroxycarbenes underwent "regular" QMHT to the aldehyde at rates comparable to, e.g., methylhydroxycarbene studied by Schreiner et al. While QMHT has been shown for a number of biological H-shift processes, its inhibition by H-bonding disclosed here may serve for the stabilization of highly reactive intermediates such as carbenes, even as a mechanism for biasing intrinsic selectivity patterns.

Spectroscopic Investigation of the Metal Coordination of the Aromatic Amino Acids with Zinc and Cadmium.

The aromatic amino acids (AAA), phenylalanine (Phe), tyrosine (Tyr), and tryptophan (Trp), were cationized with ZnCl+ and CdCl+, and the complexes were evaluated using infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) action spectroscopy. Specifically, the ZnCl+(Phe), CdCl+(Phe), ZnCl+(Tyr), CdCl+(Tyr), and ZnCl+(Trp) species were examined because the CdCl+(Trp) IRMPD spectrum is available in the literature. Several low-energy conformers for all complexes were found using quantum chemical calculations, and their simulated vibrational spectra were compared to the experimental IRMPD spectra to identify dominant isomers formed. In the case of MCl+(Phe) and MCl+(Tyr), these comparisons indicated the dominant binding motif is a tridentate structure, where the metal atom coordinates with the backbone amino nitrogen and carbonyl oxygen, as well as the aryl ring. These observations are consistent with the predicted ground states at the B3LYP, B3P86, B3LYP-GD3BJ, and MP2 levels of theory. For the ZnCl+(Trp) system, the experimental spectrum indicates a similar binding motif, with the zinc atom coordinating with the backbone nitrogen and carbonyl oxygen and either the pyrrole ring or the benzene ring of the indole side chain. These observations are consistent with the predicted low-lying conformers identified by the aforementioned levels of theory, with the B3LYP and B3P86 levels predicting the metal-pyrrole ring interaction is more favorable than the metal-benzene ring interactions and the opposite at the B3LYP-GD3BJ and MP2 levels.

Characterization of Solar Radiation-Induced Degradation Products of the Plant Sunscreen Sinapoyl Malate.

Agricultural activities at lower temperatures lead to lower yields due to reduced plant growth. Applying photomolecular heater agrochemicals could boost yields under these conditions, but UV-induced degradation of these compounds needs to be assessed. In this study, we employ liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) coupled with infrared ion spectroscopy (IRIS) to detect and identify the degradation products generated upon simulated solar irradiation of sinapoyl malate, a proposed photomolecular heater/UV filter compound. All major irradiation-induced degradation products are identified in terms of their full molecular structure by comparing the IRIS spectra obtained after LC fractionation and mass isolation with reference IR spectra obtained from quantum-chemical calculations. In cases where physical standards are available, a direct experimental-to-experimental comparison is possible for definitive structure identification. We find that the major degradation products originate from trans-to-cis isomerization, ester cleavage, and esterification reactions of sinapoyl malate. Preliminary in silico toxicity investigations using the VEGAHUB platform suggest no significant concerns for these degradation products' human and environmental safety. The identification workflow presented here can analogously be applied to break down products from other agrochemical compounds. As the method records IR spectra with the sensitivity of LC-MS, application to agricultural samples, e.g., from field trials, is foreseen.

Targeted Small-Molecule Identification Using Heartcutting Liquid Chromatography-Infrared Ion Spectroscopy.

Infrared ion spectroscopy (IRIS) can be used to identify molecular structures detected in mass spectrometry (MS) experiments and has potential applications in a wide range of analytical fields. However, MS-based approaches are often combined with orthogonal separation techniques, in many cases liquid chromatography (LC). The direct coupling of LC and IRIS is challenging due to the mismatching timescales of the two technologies: an IRIS experiment typically takes several minutes, whereas an LC fraction typically elutes in several seconds. To resolve this discrepancy, we present a heartcutting LC-IRIS approach using a setup consisting of two switching valves and two sample loops as an alternative to direct online LC-IRIS coupling. We show that this automated setup enables us to record multiple IR spectra for two LC-features from a single injection without degrading the LC-separation performance. We demonstrate the setup for application in drug metabolism research by recording six m/z-selective IR spectra for two drug metabolites from a single 2 µL sample of cell incubation extract. Additionally, we measure the IR spectra of two closely eluting diastereomeric biomarkers for the inborn error of metabolism pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE-ALDH7A1), which shows that the heartcutting LC-IRIS setup has good sensitivity (requiring ∼µL injections of ∼µM samples) and that the separation between closely eluting isomers is maintained. We envision applications in a range of research fields, where the identification of molecular structures detected by LC-MS is required.

A Dynamic Proton Bond: MH+·H2O ⇌ M·H3O+ Interconversion in Loosely Coordinated Environments.

The interaction of organic molecules with oxonium cations within their solvation shell may lead to the emergence of dynamic supramolecular structures with recurrently changing host-guest chemical identity. We illustrate this phenomenon in benchmark proton-bonded complexes of water with polyether macrocyles. Despite the smaller proton affinity of water versus the ether group, water in fact retains the proton in the form of H3O+, with increasing stability as the coordination number increases. Hindrance in many-fold coordination induces dynamic reversible (ether)·H3O+ ⇌ (etherH+)·H2O interconversion. We perform infrared action ion spectroscopy over a broad spectral range to expose the vibrational signatures of the loose proton bonding in these systems. Remarkably, characteristic bands for the two limiting proton bonding configurations are observed in the experimental vibrational spectra, superimposed onto diffuse bands associated with proton delocalization. These features cannot be described by static equilibrium structures but are accurately modeled within the framework of ab initio molecular dynamics.