Comparison of the Characteristic Mass Fragmentations of Phenethylamines and Tryptamines by Electron Ionization Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Electrospray and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry

• Published in: Applied sciences 2018-06, Vol.8 (7), p.1022
• Main Authors: Chen, Bo-Hong, Liu, Ju-Tsung, Chen, Hung-Ming, Chen, Wen-Xiong, Lin, Cheng-Huang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amphetamines; Chromatography; Cleavage; Drug screening; Drugs; Ecstasy; Experiments; Forensic science; Gas chromatography; GC-EI/MS; Hair analysis; Hydrocarbons; Ionization; Ions; Lasers; LC-ESI/MS; LSD; Lysergic acid diethylamide; MALDI/TOFMS; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Methamphetamine; Military police; Phenethylamine; Scientific imaging; Spectroscopy; Tryptamine; Tryptamines; Urine
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app8071022

[...]little mass spectrum information is available concerning their detection. Because of this, GC/MS analysis has dominated the field of drug screening for many years, and a huge database is typically available in commercial libraries. [...]more detailed information about the characteristic mass fragments, produced under different types of ionization methods, is highly desirable for the screening and confirmation of phenethylamine and tryptamine derivatives. In the case of MALDI/TOFMS, the ion intensity of [M+H]+ is greater than the fragment from the β-cleavage process, but the fragment (m/z = 144) from α-cleavage is missing. [...]our group concludes that the three characteristic peaks, ([M+H]+ and the peaks from the α-cleavage and β-cleavage processes) are very unique and provide useful information in identifying phenethylamines and tryptamines in actual forensic cases based on the ESI/MS or MALDI/TOFMS methods. [...]a 0.01 mg mL−1 DMT standard was spiked to a blank urine sample.