Synthesis, mass spectral characterization, NMR analyses, and DFT calculations of 1-desoxymaquindox and 4-desoxymaquindox

Maquindox, 3-methyl-2-acetylquinoxaline-1,4-dioxide, is a quinoxaline-N,N-dioxide used in veterinary medicine as a feed additive. 1-Desoxymaquindox and 4-desoxymaquindox, two novel deoxidized metabolites of maquindox are synthesized from their parent drug. This study deals with the structural and spectral properties of the maquindox metabolites by employing experimental and theoretical methods. The investigation, using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, shows independent proof of the structures. Gauge-including atomic orbital NMR chemical shifts are calculated for isomeric quinoxaline metabolite pairs and several different parameters (correlation coefficient, mean absolute error, and corrected mean absolute error) are investigated. Comparison of the experimental and calculated 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts allows the reliable assignment of the isomeric quinoxaline compound pairs.