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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Determination of the Gas-phase Acidities of Oligopeptides
Published on: June 24, 2013
Derivatization of peptides to enhance ionization efficiency and control fragmentation during analysis by fast atom
D S Wagner1, A Salari, D A Gage
1Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824.
Abstract:
Novel and simple procedures for preparing ethyl-triphenylphosphonium derivatives of peptides are described. These procedures allow an ethyl-triphenylphosphonium moiety to be selectively attached to either the N- or C-terminus. The resulting derivatives contain a positive charge at a fixed position and have significant hydrophobic character. Modification of peptides by these chemical methods significantly enhances the efficiency of fast atom bombardment ionization, especially of hydrophilic peptides. Moreover, upon collisionally activated dissociation, the derivatized peptides generate a predictable series of sequence ions from either the C-terminus or the N-terminus, depending on the location of the ethyl-triphenylphosphonium moiety.
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