Mass spectrometry of the nucleic acid base queuine

Abstract Mass spectrometry has played a major role in the structure elucidation of members of the Q family of bases and nucleosides, which are widely distributed in nature. The volatile N -(aminomethylene)-2,2,2-trifluoroacetamide (AMT) - trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivative of the nucleic acid base queuine has been prepared and its electron ionization mass spectrum studied. A deuterated analog of queuine has been prepared and tested for use as an internal standard for quantitative measurements of queuine in plant and animal materials by selected ion monitoring.