Characterization of multiple fragmentation pathways initiated by collision-induced dissociation of multifunctional anions formed by deprotonation of 2-nitrobenzenesulfonylglycine.

The correlation of anion structure with the fragmentation behavior of deprotonated nitrobenzenesulfonylamino acids was investigated using tandem mass spectrometry, isotopic labeling and computational methods. Four distinct fragmentation pathways resulting from the collision-induced dissociation (CID) of deprotonated 2-nitrobenzenesulfonylglycine (NsGly) were characterized. The unusual loss of the aryl nitro substituent as HONO was the lowest energy process.