ABSTRACT
Advanced soft ionization MS methods are nowadays frequently used for the analysis of chitooligosaccharides (CHOs). The advantages of applying this method are the requirement of minute quantities of sample, allowing rapid detection of nano-to picomol quantities of sample, and the possibility to separate the components of even complex mixtures by mass. Especially, tandem MS yields a wealth of information and is the method of choice for structure analysis of higher CHOs. Free sugars can be analyzed and the preparation of derivatives for the purpose of increasing volatility, such as, e.g., trimethlylsilyl ethers (Coduti and Bush 1977), is not required.
