A mass spectrometric study of glucose, sucrose, and fructose using an inductively coupled plasma and electrospray ionization

Large polyatomic ions were observed in inductively coupled plasma mass spectra of solutions containing glucose, fructose, and sucrose, whereas mass spectra of solutions of acetic acid and ethanol obtained under similar operating conditions showed that these polyatomic ions were either totally absent or were observed at much lower intensities. These results suggest that sugar molecules, in particular, have an ability to survive the plasma, giving rise to polyatomic ions. Interferences on several isotopes were observed previously in a mass spectrometric study of diluted Canadian icewine; the interferences were attributed to the high sugar content in the solution, and not the ethanol content, demonstrating the need for careful consideration of the sample matrix for quantitative analysis. Product ion mass spectra of the sugar solutions were acquired by electrospray ionization tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry to better understand the composition and fragmentation of the sugar molecules. Fragmentation schemes for the formation of polyatomic ions from the sugar molecules and observed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are proposed.