Electrospray ionization mass spectrometric studies of some imidazole amidoximes and nitrolic acids and their esters

Abstract

The fragmentations of the [M+H]+ ions of imidazole amidoximes, and nitrolic acids and their esters, were studied by collision-induced dissociation experiments and by determining the accurate masses of the product ions on an electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. The fragmentation pathways of the amidoximes varied with the substituent in the imidazole ring at position 1N, allowing two regioisomers to be distinguished. Nitrolic acids decompose in solution to nitrile oxides, and the studied nitrolic acid behaved in the same way in the gas phase. The esters decompose similarly to their parent compounds.