Collisional spectroscopy as a screening procedure for the determination of FFI in complex natural matrices

The build-up of brown products on long-lived proteins could be an important factor in determining long-term diabetic complications. A brown product 2-(2-furoyl)-4(5)-(2-furanyl)-1H-imidazole (FFI), present in the acid hydrolysate mixtures of beta-polylysine and beta-albumin has been identified by collisional spectroscopy, using a commercial double-focusing, reverse-geometry mass spectrometer. Using this approach the analyses were carried out without any sample derivatization or need for chromatographic separation procedures.