From QCEIMS to QCxMS: A Tool to Routinely Calculate CID Mass Spectra Using Molecular Dynamics

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful tool in chemical research and substance identification. For the computational modeling of electron ionization MS, we have developed the quantum-chemical electron ionization mass spectra (QCEIMS) program. Here, we present an extension of QCEIMS to calculate collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra. The more general applicability is accounted for by the new name QCxMS, where x refers to EI or CID. To this end, fragmentation and rearrangement reactions are computed on-the-fly in Born- Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with the semiempirical GFN2-xTB Hamiltonian, which provides an efficient quantum mechanical description of all elements up to Z = 86 (Rn). Through the explicit modeling of multicollision processes between precursor ions and neutral gas atoms as well as temperature-induced decomposition reactions, QCxMS provides detailed insight into the collision kinetics and fragmentation pathways. In combination with the CREST program to determine the preferential protonation sites, QCxMS becomes the first standalone MD-based program that can predict mass spectra based solely on molecular structures as input. We demonstrate this for six organic molecules with masses ranging from 159 to 296 Da, for which QCxMS yields CID spectra in reasonable agreement with experiments.

Automated summary

Mass spectrometry is a powerful tool in chemical research, and the QCEIMS program has been further developed into QCxMS to calculate collision-induced dissociation spectra. By utilizing Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations with the semiempirical GFN2-xTB Hamiltonian, QCxMS is able to provide detailed insight into collision kinetics and fragmentation pathways. Through explicit modeling of multicollision processes and temperature-induced decomposition reactions, QCxMS can predict mass spectra based solely on molecular structures as input, yielding CID spectra in agreement with experiments.