Liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of dansylated polyamines and basic amino acids

Abstract

Abstract Liquid chromatogrpahy‐electrospray tandem mass spectrometry allows identification of dansylated basic amino acids and polyamines with a high degree of specificity, including unambiguous acid and 2 hydroxycadaverine, and N 1 ‐ and N 8 ‐acetylspermidine. In favorable cases, characteristic fragmentation mechanisms permit identification even in the absence of authentic reference compounds. The method readily identified acetyldiaminopropane, citrul‐line, and diacetylspermine as metabolic products of Erwinia amylovora .