Determination of Double Bond Positions in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Using the Photochemical Paterno-Buchi Reaction with Acetone and Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The positions of double bonds along the carbon chain of methylene interrupted polyunsaturated fatty acids are unique identifiers of specific fatty acids derived from biochemical reactions that occur in cells. It is possible to obtain direct structural information as to these double bond positions using tandem mass spectrometry after collisional activation of the carboxylate anions of an acetone adduct at each of the double bond positions formed by the photochemical Paterno-Buchi reaction with acetone. This reaction can be carried out by exposing a small portion of an inline fused silica capillary to UV photons from a mercury vapor lamp as the sample is infused into the electrospray ion source of a mass spectrometer. Collisional activation of [M - H](-) yields a series of reverse Paterno-Buchi reaction product ions that essentially are derived from cleavage of the original carbon carbon double bonds that yield an isopropenyl carboxylate anion corresponding to each double bond location. Aldehydic reverse Paterno-Buchi product ions are much less abundant as the carbon chain length and number of double bonds increase. The use of a mixture of D-0/D-6-acetone facilitates identification of these double bonds indicating product ions as shown for arachidonic acid. If oxygen is present in the solvent stream undergoing UV photoactivation, ozone cleavage ions are also observed without prior collisional activation. This reaction was used to determine the double bond positions in a 20:3 fatty acid that accumulated in phospholipids of RAW 264.7 cells cultured for 3 days.