Determination of End Groups of Synthetic Polymers by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization: High-Energy Collision-Induced Dissociation

Abstract

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization has been combined with high-energy collision-induced dissociation for the analysis of poly(ethylene glycols) with butanoyl, benzoyl and acetyl end groups, using novel technology comprising a magnetic-sector mass spectrometer and ion buncher with an in-line quadratic-field ion mirror. High-energy (>8 keV) collision-induced dissociation facilitated unambiguous end-group determination of these polymers, providing masses of end groups and structural information. The high-energy collision-induced dissociation also provided information regarding repeat units.