A Study on Effective Derivatization for Ultra-Micro Detection of Dopamine by Gas Chromatography / Electron Capture Negative Ion Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Abstract N-Pentafluorobenzenesulfonyl-O-bis (trimethylsilyl) dopamine was prepared and its properties were discussed for ultra-micro detection of dopamine by gas chromatography / electron capture negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC/ECNICIMS). Detection of this derivative was at least 100 times as sensitive by GC/ECNICIMS as by gas chromatography / positive ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Deuterium labelled dopamine, dopamine analog phenethylamine and deuterium labelled phenethylamine were also derivatized, respectively, to reveal the fragmentation mechanism of the dopamine derivative. the high sensitivity and speculated fragment ion composition of the derivative by GC/ECNICIMS showed a possibility for highly sensitive detect ion of dopamine.