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Review
. 2012 Sep 27;17(10):11507-37.
doi: 10.3390/molecules171011507.

The expanding role of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for probing reactive intermediates in solution

Weitao Zhu  1 , Yu Yuan, Peng Zhou, Le Zeng, Hua Wang, Ling Tang, Bin Guo, Bo Chen
Affiliations
Review

The expanding role of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for probing reactive intermediates in solution

Weitao Zhu et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Within the past decade, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has rapidly occupied a prominent position for liquid-phase mechanistic studies due to its intrinsic advantages allowing for efficient "fishing" (rapid, sensitive, specific and simultaneous detection/identification) of multiple intermediates and products directly from a "real-world" solution. In this review we attempt to offer a comprehensive overview of the ESI-MS-based methodologies and strategies developed up to date to study reactive species in reaction solutions. A full description of general issues involved with probing reacting species from complex (bio)chemical reaction systems is briefly covered, including the potential sources of reactive intermediate (metabolite) generation, analytical aspects and challenges, basic rudiments of ESI-MS and the state-of-the-art technology. The main purpose of the present review is to highlight the utility of ESI-MS and its expanding role in probing reactive intermediates from various reactions in solution, with special focus on current progress in ESI-MS-based approaches for improving throughput, testing reality and real-time detection by using newly developed MS instruments and emerging ionization sources (such as ambient ESI techniques). In addition, the limitations of modern ESI-MS in detecting intermediates in organic reactions is also discussed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A historical timeline showcasing the significant events and milestones [54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70] in the development of ESI-MS for detection of reaction intermediates.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sketch of generic ESI-MS strategies for probing reaction intermediates in solution: angling (selective fishing), decomposing (exhaustive searching) and imaging (holistic snapshot).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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