Double bond locations in fatty acids can be determined from characteristic charge-remote fragmentation patterns of alkali metal-adducted fatty acids following high energy collision activated dissociation (CAD). With low energy CAD, several chemical derivatization methods, including ozonization, epoxidation, and hydroxylation, have been used to generate characteristic fragments. However, high energy CAD is not universally available and involves a high degree of scattering, causing product ion loss. Further, derivatization reactions involve side reactions and sample loss. Here, we analyzed metal-adducted fatty acids to investigate the utility of electron induced dissociation (EID) for determining double bond location. EID has been proposed to involve both electronic excitation, similar to high energy CAD, and vibrational exciation. Various metals (Li, Zn, Co, Ni, Mg, Ca, Fe, and Mn) were investigated to fix one charge at the carboxylate end of fatty acids to promote charge-remote fragmentation. EID of Mn(II)-adducted fatty acids allowed determination of all double bond locations of arachidonic acid, linolenic acid, oleic acid, and stearic acid. For Mn(II)-adducted fatty acids, reduced characteristic charge-remote product ion abundances at the double bond positions are indicative of double bond locations. However, other metal adducts did not generally provide characteristic product ion abundances at all double bond locations.
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