MASS SPECTROMETRY OF SULFURCONTAINING COMPOUNDS IN ORGANIC AND BIOORGANIC FIELDS*

This survey covers the mass spectrometric properties of organosulfur compounds containing the sulfide, disulfide, and sulfone functional groups. Attention is paid to the uni- and bimolecular chemistry of both positive and negative ions, as well as to the reactions of ions, with sulfur containing species, in the gas phase. The role of other functional groups on the decomposition of organic S, SO, SO, containing gaseous ions is also discussed. The selection of sulfur containing compounds includes many naturally occurring and pharmaceutically significant products, that will be presented in the following order: alkaloids, amino acids, peptides, proteins, carbohydrates, steroids, and metabolites