Fast atom bombardment combined with tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of nucleosides

The positive and negative ion fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectra and fast atom bombardment collisionally activated decomposition (CAD) spectra of a series of nucleosides and two dinucleotides are reported. The nucleosides studied are substituted forms of guanosine, adenosine, nebularine, tubercidin, uridine, and related pyrimidines. The FAB and CAD data both contain similar information. The CAD spectra are found to provide some structural information not found in the FAB mass spectra. Tandem mass spectrometry also allows emphasis to be put on weak fragments which are either not observed in the FAB mass spectrum or are lost in the matrix ion signals.