Analysis of Chirality by Femtosecond Laser Ionization Mass Spectrometry

What is it about?

Recent progress in the field of chirality analysis employing laser ionization mass spectrometry is reviewed. Emphasis is given to femtosecond (fs) laser ionization work from the author’s group. We begin by reviewing fundamental aspects of determining circular dichroism (CD) in fs-laser ionization mass spectrometry (fs-LIMS) discussing an example from the literature (resonant fs-LIMS of 3-methylcyclopentanone). Second, we present new data indicating CD in non-resonant fs-LIMS of propylene oxide.

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Why is it important?

Classical approaches consider CD to be a resonance phenomenon. To our knowledge, this work is the first demonstration of CD in non-resonant femtosecond laser ionization.