A new variant of nanocalorimetry is proposed for the thermochemical analysis of ion-molecule reactions of hydrated ions in the gas phase. The average number of water molecules evaporating during the reaction is extracted by quantitative modeling of the average number of water molecules in the reactant and product cluster distribution as a function of time, taking into account black-body radiation induced dissociation. The method is tested on reactions of (H2O)n(-) with O2 and CO2, and the core exchange reaction of CO2(-)(H2O)n with O2 to yield O2(-)(H2O)n and CO2. Reproducible results are obtained for the number of water molecules evaporating. Nanocalorimetric analysis reveals a non-ergodic component of DelatE(ne) = 59 +/- 14 kJ mol(-1) in the core exchange reaction, most likely carried away by the neutral CO2 product. Extrapolation to solution phase values suggests hydration enthalpies of DeltaH(hyd) = -375 +/- 30 kJ mol(-1) for O2(-) and DeltaH(hyd) = -268 +/- 27 kJ mol(-1) for CO2(-).

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The complete catalytic cycle of CO oxidation with N2O is shown to occur on Ptn+ (see scheme); for Pt7+ it involves six different elementary reactions. Poisoning of the catalyst by sequential addition of CO is observed. The extent of poisoning can be adjusted with the ratio of N2O and CO partial pressures.

The gas-phase reactions of hydrated electrons with carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen were studied by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry. Both CO2 and O2 react efficiently with (H2O)n- because they possess low-lying empty pi* orbitals. The molecular CO2- and O2- anions are concurrently solvated and stabilized by the water ligands to form CO2(-)(H2O)n and O2(-)(H2O)n. Core exchange reactions are also observed, in which CO2(-)(H2O)n is transformed into O2(-)(H2O)n upon collision with O2. This is in agreement with the prediction based on density functional theory calculations that O2(-)(H2O)n clusters are thermodynamically favored with respect to CO2(-)(H2O)n. Electron detachment from the product species is only observed for CO2(-)(H2O)2, in agreement with the calculated electron affinities and solvation energies.

Hydrated vanadium cations V + (H 2 O) n , n ¼ 5-30, are stored in the collision-free environment of an FT-ICR mass spectrometer and their reactions due to absorption of black body radiation are studied. Besides the loss of water ligands, the clusters show two different intracluster redox reactions, whose branching ratios are strongly size-dependent. Oxidation to the +II state results in V(OH) + (H 2 O) n ions, and a concurrent release of atomic hydrogen. Alternatively V(OH) 2 + (H 2 O) n clusters can form leaving vanadium in the +III state, common in aqueous solutions, and simultaneously molecular H 2 evaporates from the cluster. This behavior reflects the properties of transition metals, and the ability of vanadium to form stable compounds in a variety of oxidation states, and differs from the previously studied intracluster reactions involving the hydrated monovalent main group metals Mg + and Al + . These only react to their preferred oxidation states, MgOH + and Al(OH) 2 + , respectively.

The structure of the sodiated peptide GGGGGGGG-Na ϩ or G 8 -Na ϩ was investigated by infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy and a combination of theoretical methods. IRMPD was carried out in both the fingerprint and N-H/O-H stretching regions. Modeling used the polarizable force field AMOEBA in conjunction with the replica-exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) method, allowing an efficient exploration of the potential energy surface. Geometries and energetics were further refined at B3LYP-D and MP2 quantum chemical levels. The IRMPD spectra indicate that there is no free C-terminus OH and that several N-Hs are free of hydrogen bonding, while several others are bound, however not very strongly. The structure must then be either of the charge solvation (CS) type with a hydrogen-bound acidic OH, or a salt bridge (SB). Extensive REMD searches generated several low-energy structures of both types. The most stable structures of each type are computed to be very close in energy. The computed energy barrier separating these structures is small enough that G 8 -Na ϩ is likely fluxional with easy proton transfer between the two peptide termini. There is, however, good agreement between experiment and computations in the entire spectral range for the CS isomer only, which thus appears to be the most likely structure of G 8 -Na ϩ at room temperature. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2010, 21, 728 -738) © 2010 American Society for Mass Spectrometry T he biological importance of sodium in performing or facilitating essential biological processes, such as neurotransmission, osmotic balance, and cellular metabolism is well documented [1][2][3]. Mass spectrometric methods have been used extensively to provide insight into peptide sequences [4,5] starting from sodium-cationized species, however with considerable debate as to the structure of the parent species and the fragmentation mechanisms [6 -8]. In this context, sodiated oligoglycines have been used in the last decade as a valuable testing ground for new experimental developments designed to obtain refined energetic and/or structural data. These include ion mobility measurements for global shape information [9,10], H/D exchange extent and kinetics for isomeric/ conformational content [11], the kinetic [12, 13] and the threshold collision induced decomposition [14] methods for thermochemical measurements, as well as infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy [15] for identification of functional groups and their interactions. All these studies have been complemented by extensive molecular modeling as required for translating experimental data into properties of specific molecular structures.Oligoglycines owe their value as model peptides to their relative simplicity. While the number of residues is an obvious source of conformational complexity, the absence of side chains limits the number of factors shaping their structures and energies. On the one hand, the main components of sodium-molecule interactions are electrostatic and polarization, favoring m...

Gas-phase infrared spectra of deprotonated phosphorylated amino acids ([pAA-H](-))-phosphoserine ([pSer-H](-)), phosphothreonine ([pThr-H](-)), and phosphotyrosine ([pTyr-H](-))-and of the dihydrogen phosphate anion H(2)PO(4)(-) have been recorded in the mid-IR region (650-2000 cm(-1)) under tandem mass spectrometry conditions. The experimental setup involved a Paul ion trap equipped with an electrospray ionization source coupled with a tunable free electron laser (FEL). Spectral assignment of the observed IRMPD bands and identification of the vibrational signatures of the phosphorylation have been performed by comparison with DFT calculations. The H(2)PO(4)(-) anion has been used as a simple model of a free deprotonated phosphate group, helping the identification of the IR signatures of phosphorylation. Our results show that deprotonation occurs on the phosphate group for the three amino acids. A comparison between the deprotonated and protonated phosphorylated amino acids is reported for the most important vibrational features.

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