Identification of astaxanthin diglucoside diesters from snow alga Chlamydomonas nivalis by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Astaxanthin glucoside esters from snow alga Chlamydomonas nivalis were identified by means of liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (LC-MS/APCI) based on preparative HPLC and subsequent identification by microbore LC-MS/APCI. The combination of these two techniques was used to identify more than 100 molecular species. The astaxanthin diglucoside diester was also synthesized to unambiguously confirm its structure.