<p>The
abundance of an ion in an electrospray ionization mass spectrum is dependent on
many factors beyond just solution concentration. Even in cases where the ions
are permanently charged and do not rely on protonation or other chemical
processes to acquire the necessary charge, factors such as cation structure,
molecular weight, solvent, and the identity of the anion can perturb results. Screening
of a variety of combinations of cation, anion and solvent provided insight into
some of the more important factors. Rigid cations and high conductivity anions
tended to provide the highest responses, while acetonitrile was the most
accurate solvent for reflecting solution composition. Functional groups that
had affinity for the solvent tended to depress response. These observations
will provide predictive power when accounting for ions that for reasons of high
reactivity can not be isolated.</p><br>
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