Flying Capsules: Mass Spectrometric Detection of Pyrogallarene and Resorcinarene Hexamers

Abstract

Survival of the fittest: Only those hexameric pyrogallarene and resorcinarene capsules which contain a guest with the right size, shape, and symmetry (see picture) survive the electrospray ionization process that makes them detectable by mass spectrometry. Tandem MS experiments with mass-selected ions provide evidence that the hexamers retain their capsular structure even in the gas phase.