Collisional Activation Spectrometry

The mechanisms of collisional activation of ions in mass spectrometry.

This article is a review of the mechanisms responsible for collisional activation of ions in mass spectrometers. Part I gives a general introduction to the processes occurring when a projectile ion and neutral target collide. The theoretical background to the physical phenomena of curve-crossing excitation (for electronic and vibrational excitation), impulsive collisions (for direct translation...

COLLISIONAL ACTIVATION BY FOURIER - TRANSFORM MASS SPECTROMETRY A Study of Target Gas Excitation

Studies on the charge-transfer reactions between translationally excited polyatomic ions and the neutral target gas used for collisional activation/collision-induced dissociation are described. These studies demonstrate an additional area where Fourier-transform mass spectrometry can be used to probe the fundamentals of ion/neutral interactions, viz., target gas excitation which competes with c...

FOCUS: ADVANCING HIGH PERFORMANCE MASS SPECTROMETRY: RESEARCH ARTICLE Solution Dependence of the Collisional Activation of Ubiquitin [M + 7H] Ions

The solution dependence of gas-phase unfolding for ubiquitin [M + 7H] ions has been studied by ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS). Different acidic water:methanol solutions are used to favor the native (N), more helical (A), or unfolded (U) solution states of ubiquitin. Unfolding of gas-phase ubiquitin ions is achieved by collisional heating and newly formed structures are exa...

Collisional activation of protein complexes: picking up the pieces.

Mass spectrometry is fast becoming a vital approach not only for the identification and quantification of proteins, but also for the study of the noncovalent assemblies they form. Approaches for ionizing, transmitting, and detecting protein complexes intact in the mass spectrometer are now well established. The challenge has therefore shifted to developing and applying mass spectrometry approac...

Absorption Spectrometry: Characterization in Terms of a Simplified Collisional Rate Model