Characterization of different poly(2-oxazoline) block copolymers by MALDI-TOF MS/MS and ESI-Q-TOF MS/MS

Anja Baumgaertel, Esra Altuntaş, Kristian Kempe, Anna C. Crecelius, Ulrich S. Schubert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A complete library of poly(2-oxazoline) block copolymers was synthesized via cationic ring opening polymerization for the characterization by two different soft ionization techniques, namely matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF MS). In addition, a detailed characterization was performed by tandem MS to gain more structural information about the block copolymer composition and its fragmentation behavior. The fragmentation of the poly(2-oxazoline) block copolymers revealed the desired polymer structure and possible side reactions, which could be explained by different mechanisms, like 1,4-ethylene or hydrogen elimination and the McLafferty +1 rearrangement. Polymers with aryl side groups showed less fragmentation due to their higher stability compared to polymers with alkyl side groups. These insights represent a further step toward the construction of a library with fragments and their fragmentation pathways for synthetic polymers, following the successful examples in proteomics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5533-5540
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry
Volume48
Issue number23
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Block copolymers
  • ESI
  • MALDI
  • Mass spectrometry
  • Poly(2-oxazoline)

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