Detection and identification of counterions in biologically active organic compounds
EMSL Project ID
47402
Abstract
Organic compounds containing acidic or basic functional groups, such as carboxylic acids or amines, frequently occur as the salt of the neutral compound. The characteristics of the counterion in these salt forms influence their chemistry. Moreover, identification of unknown counterions can be useful for understanding and characterizing chemical distinctions between different samples of the same organic compound. Such distinctions form the basis of chemical forensic analysis, where the goal is to associate or distinguish samples for applications such as source attribution and sample matching of specimens collected in the field. We propose to use LC/MS for rapid, accurate, and possibly quantitative analysis and identification of counterions in the salt forms of some biologically active organic compounds that are being used in development of chemical forensics applications. The objective is to demonstrate that this approach can distinguish samples of the same compound that differ only in the identity of the counterion. Results of this research could impact the field of chemical forensics by establishing a novel method for sample matching and source attribution. Fields as diverse as forensic science, biology, and environmental science could benefit from such a method. EMSL resources are necessary because the PI in this project does not have access to the required instrumentation. Additionally, this research complements chemical forensic methods developed using EMSL NMR instruments.
Project Details
Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2012-03-27
End Date
2012-05-27
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)