Compound 1 (1-(3-chlorophenyl)-4-[1-(4-cyanobenzyl)imidazolylmethyl]-2-piperazinone hydrochloride) is a farnesyl transferase inhibitor intended for treatment of cancer. A detailed analysis of the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry data of protonated 1 shows that in the gas phase, upon collision-induced dissociation, this ion undergoes complicated rearrangement and fragmentation. These processes include a novel two-step rearrangement. The first step involves a gas-phase intramolecular S(N)2 reaction that forms an intermediate. The second step consists of three competitive rearrangement/fragmentation pathways of the intermediate, giving rise to protonated 2, protonated methylene-imidazole, and a distonic methylimidazole radical cation. Deuterated 1 was studied under the same experimental conditions, and the results strongly support the proposed two-step rearrangement process. It is noted that the unique structure of 1, especially the imidazole ring of 1, plays a critical role in the rearrangement of protonated 1.
Compound 1 {N-[1(R) Ϫ [(1,2-dihydro-1-methylsulfonylspiro[3H-indole-3,4'-piperidin]-1'-yl)carbonyl]-2-(phenylmethyloxy)ethyl]-2-amino-2-methylpropanamide}(MW 528) is an orally-active growth hormone secretagogue (GHS). As part of a continual effort to analyze the ESI/MS and MS n data of novel drugs, the ESI/MS and MS/MS data of protonated 1 (m/z 529) are analyzed and reported here. The analyses reveal that under low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) in an ion trap or a quadrupole collision cell, protonated 1 undergoes a gas-phase rearrangement to form protonated 3 (m/z 357) which competes with the y-and b-type product ions during the amide bond cleavages of protonated 1. It is proposed that when the b-type ion is formed by cleavage of the piperidine amide bond, piperidine (a neutral species) and the b-ion (a cation) form an ion-neutral complex. In this complex, piperidine functions as a nucleophile to attack the benzylic carbon of the b-ion, and the protonated ether group in the b-ion acts as a leaving group, which results in the migration of the benzylic group to the piperidine amine to form protonated 3. Protonated 2 (an analog of 1) was studied under the same experimental conditions. The results show that protonated 2 undergoes a similar rearrangement to form protonated 3. While this rearrangement is a relatively minor fragmentation process for protonated 1, it is a predominant process for protonated 2. This phenomenon is explained in terms of the proposed ion-neutral-complex mechanism. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2002, 13, 371-377)
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