Absolute bond dissociation energies of serine (Ser) and threonine (Thr) to alkali metal cations are determined experimentally by threshold collision-induced dissociation of M+AA complexes, where M+=Li+, Na+, and K+ and AA=Ser and Thr, with xenon in a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer. Experimental results show that the binding energies of both amino acids to the alkali metal cations are very similar to one another and follow the order of Li+>Na+>K+. Quantum chemical calculations at three different levels, B3LYP, B3P86, and MP2(full), using the 6-311+G(2d,2p) basis set with geometries and zero-point energies calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level show good agreement with the experimental bond energies. Theoretical calculations show that all M+AA complexes have charge-solvated structures (nonzwitterionic) with [CO, N, O] tridentate coordination.

Absolute bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of glycylglycine (GG) and glycylglycylglycine (GGG) to sodium and potassium cations and sequential bond energies of glycine (G) in Na+G2 were determined experimentally by threshold collision-induced dissociation (TCID) in a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer. Experimental results showed that the binding energies follow the order of Na+ > K+ and M+GGG > M+GG > M+G. Theoretical calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d) level show that all complexes had charge-solvated structures (nonzwitterionic) with either [CO,CO] bidentate or [N,CO,CO] tridentate coordination for M+GG complexes, [CO,CO,CO] tridentate or [N,CO,CO,CO] tetradentate coordination for M+GGG complexes, and [N,CO,N,CO] tetradentate coordination for Na+G2. Ab initio calculations at three different levels of theory (B3LYP, B3P86, and MP2(full) using the 6-311+G(2d,2p) basis set with geometries and zero-point energies calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d) level) show good agreement with the experimental bond energies. This study demonstrates for the first time that TCID measurements of absolute BDEs can be successfully extended to biological molecules as complex as a tripeptide.

We present a full molecular description of fragmentation reactions of protonated glycine (G) and its protonated dimer, H(+)G(2), by studying their collision-induced dissociation (CID) with Xe using a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer (GIBMS). In contrast to previous results, it is clear that H(+)G decomposes by loss of CO followed by H(2)O. Analysis of the energy-dependent CID cross sections provides the 0 K barriers for these processes as well as for the binding energy of the dimer after accounting for unimolecular decay rates, internal energy of reactant ions, and multiple ion-molecule collisions. Relaxed potential energy surface scans performed at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level are used to map the reaction surfaces and identify the transition states (TSs) and intermediate reaction species for the reactions, structures that are further optimized at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level. Single-point energies of the key optimized structures are calculated at B3LYP and MP2(full) levels using a 6-311+G(2d,2p) basis set. These theoretical results are compared to extensive calculations in the literature and to the experimental energies. The combination of both experimental work and quantum chemical calculations allows for a complete characterization of the elementary steps of H(+)G and H(+)G(2) decomposition. These results make it clear that H(+)G is the simplest model for the ''mobile proton'', a key concept in understanding the fragmentation of protonated proteins.

Lithium cation complexes with serine (Ser) and threonine (Thr) are collisionally activated with xenon in a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer and are observed to exhibit a variety of decomposition pathways in addition to a loss of the intact ligand. Prominent pathways include a loss of H2O, CO2, and aldehydes (XCHO where X=H for Ser and CH3 for Thr). Quantum chemical calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level are used to explore the reaction mechanisms for these processes in detail. Complete potential energy surfaces for all three processes are elucidated, including all intermediates and transition states. Theoretical molecular parameters for the rate-limiting transition states are then used to analyze the threshold energies in the experimental data, providing experimental measurements of the energies of these transition states. These experimental energies are compared with single-point energies calculated at three different levels, B3LYP, B3P86, and MP2(full), using the 6-311+G(2d,2p) basis set with geometries and zero-point energies calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level. Good agreement between experiment and theory (especially MP2(full)) suggests that the reaction mechanisms have been reasonably elucidated.

The deamidation and dehydration products of Na+(L), where L = asparagine (Asn), glutamine (Gln), aspartic acid (Asp), and glutamic acid (Glu), are examined in detail utilizing collision-induced dissociation (CID) with Xe in a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer (GIBMS). Results establish that the Na+(L) complexes decompose upon formation in our dc discharge/flow tube ion source to form a bis-ligand complex, Na+(L-HX)(HX), composed of a sodium cation, the (L-HX) decomposition product, and HX, where HX = NH3 for the amides and H2O for the acids. Analysis of the energy-dependent CID cross sections for the Na+(L-HX)(HX) complexes provides unambiguous identification of the (L-HX) fragmentation products as 3-amino succinic anhydride (a-SA) for Asx and oxo-proline (O-Pro) for Glx. Furthermore, these experiments establish the 0 K sodium cation affinities for these five-membered ring decomposition products and the H2O and NH3 binding affinities of the Na+(a-SA) and Na+(O-Pro) complexes after accounting for unimolecular decay rates, the internal energy of reactant ions, and multiple ion-molecule collisions. Quantum chemical calculations are determined for a number of geometric conformations of all reaction species as well as a number of candidate species for (L-HX) at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level with single-point energies calculated at MP2(full), B3LYP, and B3P86 levels using a 6-311+G(2d,2p) basis set. This coordinated examination of both the experimental work and quantum chemical calculations allows for a complete characterization of the products of deamidation and dehydration of Asx and Glx, as well as the details of Na+, H2O, and NH3 binding to the decomposition species.