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Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry for analysis of lipids

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Lipids

Abstract

Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometry (MS) has proven to be a very valuable technique for analysis of lipids from a variety of classes. This instrumental method readily produces useful ions with gentle fragmentation from large neutral molecules such as triacylglycerols and carotenoids, which are often difficult to analyze using other techniques. Molecules that are easily ionized, such as phospholipids, produce molecular ions and diagnostically useful fragment ions that are complementary to those produced by methods such as electrospray ionization MS with collision-induced dissociation. The simplicity and versatility of APCI-MS make it an ideal tool for use in solving hitherto very difficult analytical problems.

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Abbreviations

ACN:

acyl carbon number

AMVN:

azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile)

APCI:

atmospheric pressure chemical ionization

API:

atmospheric pressure ionization

Br-MB:

3-bromomethyl-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-2-one

CID:

collision-induced dissociation

cSFC:

capillary supercritical fluid chromatography

DAG:

diacylglycerol

ECN:

equivalent carbon number

EIC:

extracted ion chromatogram

ELSD:

evaporative light-scattering detector

ESI:

electrospray ionization

FA:

fatty acid

FAME:

fatty acid methyl ester

FI:

flow injection

FID:

flame-ionization detection

GC:

gas chromatography

L:

linoleic acid

LC:

liquid chromatography

Ln:

linolenic acid

LSIMS:

liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry

MAG:

monoacylglycerol

MS:

mass spectrometry

MS/MS:

tandem mass spectrometry

O:

oleic acid

P:

palmitic acid

PC:

phosphatidylcholine

PG:

phosphatidylglycerol

RP-HPLC:

reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

S:

stearic acid

SFC:

supercritical fluid chromatography

SIM:

selected ion monitoring

TAG:

triacylglycerol

THCA:

3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholestanic acid

TSP:

thermospray

UV:

ultraviolet

Vis:

visible

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Correspondence to William Craig Byrdwell.

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Byrdwell, W.C. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry for analysis of lipids. Lipids 36, 327–346 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-001-0725-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-001-0725-5

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