Kinetics for Tautomerizations and Dissociations of Triglycine Radical Cations

Fragmentations of tautomers of the α-centered radical triglycine radical cation, [GGG^•]⁺, [GG^•G]⁺, and [G^•GG]⁺, are charge-driven, giving b-type ions; these are processes that are facilitated by a mobile proton, as in the fragmentation of protonated triglycine (Rodriquez, C. F. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 3006-3012). By contrast, radical centers are less mobile. Two mechanisms have been examined theoretically utilizing density functional theory and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus modeling: (1) a direct hydrogen-atom migration between two α-carbons, and (2) a two-step proton migration involving canonical [GGG]^•+ as an intermediate. Predictions employing the latter mechanism are in good agreement with results of recent CID experiments (Chu, I. K. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 7862-7872). © 2009 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.