Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry of some anthracycline and bisanthracycline derivatives

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Abstract
Fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectra of daunomycin (1), four of its derivatives (2–5), seven bisanthracyclines (6–12) and three mixed-functional daunomycin-acridine derivatives (13–15) are reported. These anthracyclines all exhibited their expected [MH]+ ions and peaks corresponding to the fragmentations which are characteristic of the anthracycline moiety, and in addition the spectra showed enhanced [MH + n]+ (n = 1–4) ions which were attributed to reductive processes occurring in the liquid matrix under FAB conditions. Daunomycin was also observed to form a dimeric cluster ion [M2H]+ together with associated reduced ions under FAB conditions. We have found that FAB mass spectrometry is an ideal method for the qualitative analysis of large, non-volatile derivatives of anthracyclines.