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Fast-heating mass spectrometry of phosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and
Abstract:
A fast-heating probe and chemical ionization have been used to obtain mass spectra of the synthetic glycerophospholipids 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, and 1-monoacyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. The phospholipids investigated gave quasimolecular peaks and fragment ions, with preferential cleavage of the C-O bond (beta position to the phosphorus atom) and loss of phosphoethanolamine or phosphocholine. This technique makes possible the analysis of mixtures of intact phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, 2-lysophosphatidylcholine, and sphingomyelin isolated from natural sources such as egg yolk or brain. Only minor and inexpensive modifications of a standard mass spectrometer are required.