A novel method for the analysis of the substitution pattern of O-methyl-α- and β-1,4-glucans by means of electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry/collision induced dissociation

The substitution pattern of O-methyl amylose and O-methyl cellulose was analysed after per-O-methylation (Me-d3), and partial hydrolysis by subsequent ESI-MS/CID of the sodium (MS2) and the lithium adducts (MS3). Based on previous studies about the influence of regioselective O-methylation on the fragmentation pathways of malto- and cello-oligosaccharides, we could calculate the contribution of a certain methyl pattern to a distinct signal in the reproducible ESI-MS2 daughter spectrum. Signal intensities obtained from each O-methyl-O-methyl-d3 disaccharide were distributed on the corresponding methyl patterns and accumulated for all peaks of the mother mass spectrum. Data from ESI-MS2 were not sufficient for disaccharides bearing methyl and deuteromethyl groups in the combination 2 and 4, 3 and 3, or 4 and 2. Further independent information was obtained by ESI-MS3 of the lithium adducts. Monomer composition of methyl celluloses and methyl amyloses obtained by this novel approach were in very good agreement with reference data from GLC of the partially methylated glucitol acetates after complete hydrolysis, reduction and acetylation.