Electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of a novel series of amphipathic functionalized ether-linked di- and trisaccharides and cyclic oligosaccharides.

Electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) has aided the structural characterization of a novel series of amphipathic functionalized ether-linked di- and trisaccharides, composed of units of alkyl derivatives of glucofuranose and either units of glucofuranose or diacetylgalactose. The structural elucidation of a novel eight-membered macrocyclic ether-linked disaccharide and an 11-membered macrocyclic ether-linked trisaccharide was also effected using ESMS. Low-energy collision-induced dissociation MS/MS analysis of the [M + H]+ precursor ions confirmed the characteristic fingerprint patterns obtained in the conventional electrospray spectra and proved to be a specific and very sensitive method for the detection and characterization of these novel amphipathic molecules.