Stability of flavin semiquinones in the gas phase: the electron affinity, proton affinity, and hydrogen atom affinity of lumiflavin.

Examination of electron transfer and proton transfer reactions of lumiflavin and proton transfer reactions of the lumiflavin radical anion by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry is described. From the equilibrium constant determined for electron transfer between 1,4-naphthoquinone and lumiflavin the electron affinity of lumiflavin is deduced to be 1.86 ± 0.1 eV. Measurements of the rate constants and efficiencies for proton transfer reactions indicate that the proton affinity of the lumiflavin radical anion is between that of difluoroacetate (331.0 kcal/mol) and p-formyl-phenoxide (333.0 kcal/mol). Combining the electron affinity of lumiflavin with the proton affinity of the lumiflavin radical anion gives a lumiflavin hydrogen atom affinity of 59.7 ± 2.2 kcal/mol. The ΔG298 deduced from these results for adding an H atom to gas phase lumiflavin, 52.1 ± 2.2 kcal/mol, is in good agreement with ΔG298 for adding an H atom to aqueous lumiflavin from electrochemical measurements in the literature, 51.0 kcal/mol, and that from M06-L density functional calculations in the literature, 51.2 kcal/mol, suggesting little, if any, solvent effect on the H atom addition. The proton affinity of lumiflavin deduced from the equilibrium constant for the proton transfer reaction between lumiflavin and 2-picoline is 227.3 ± 2.0 kcal mol(-1). Density functional theory calculations on isomers of protonated lumiflavin provide a basis for assigning the most probable site of protonation as position 1 on the isoalloxazine ring and for estimating the ionization potentials of lumiflavin neutral radicals.

Identification of colorants in pigmented pen inks by laser desorption mass spectrometry.

Pigments are rapidly replacing dyes as colorants in pen and printer inks, due to their superior colors and stability. Unfortunately, tools commonly used in questioned document examination for analyzing pen inks, such as TLC, cannot be used for the analysis of insoluble pigments on paper. Laser desorption mass spectrometry is demonstrated here as a tool for analyzing pigment-based pen inks. A pulsed nitrogen laser can be focused onto a pen stroke from a pigmented ink pen on paper, and positive and negative ions representative of the pigment can be generated for subsequent mass spectrometric analysis. Targeted pens for this work were a set of Uni-ball 207 pigmented ink pens containing blue, light blue, orange, green, violet, red, pink, and black inks. Copper phthalocyanine was identified as the pigment used to make both blue inks. A mixture of halogenated copper phthalocyanines were identified in the green ink. Unexpectedly, the pink ink was found to contain a red pigment, Pigment Red 12, treated with a mixture of water-soluble dyes. Each sample yielded ions representative of the pigments present.