Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric characteristics of d4T H-phosphonate and distamycin conjugates.

The study of the dissociation of the protonated molecular species M+H and selected fragment ions allowed proposals for the main fragmentation pathways of the title compounds. The main fragments are formed by expelling a molecule of thymine, thymidine (d4T) or isopropyl. The most striking feature of the tandem mass (MS/MS) spectra is the cleavage of C-CO bonds between N-methylpyrrole and carbonyl groups in the presence of the amidine. Electrospray ionization is proven to be a good method for the structural characterization and identification of these kinds of compounds.