===================================== Ion Types ===================================== Standard Fragment Ions ----------------------- These are the most commonly used fragment ions in peptide mass spectrometry: .. list-table:: :header-rows: 1 :widths: 15 15 25 45 * - Ion Type - String Value - Delta Formula - Description * - **Precursor** - ``"p"`` - H₂O - Intact peptide with water addition * - **Neutral** - ``"n"`` - (none) - Neutral peptide backbone (no modifications) * - **a-ion** - ``"a"`` - C⁻¹O⁻¹ - N-terminal fragment * - **b-ion** - ``"b"`` - (none) - N-terminal fragment * - **c-ion** - ``"c"`` - H₃N - N-terminal fragment * - **x-ion** - ``"x"`` - CO₂ - C-terminal fragment * - **y-ion** - ``"y"`` - H₂O - C-terminal fragment * - **z-ion** - ``"z"`` - H⁻¹N⁻¹O - C-terminal fragment * - **z• radical** - ``"z."`` - N⁻¹O - Radical z-ion * - **z+H** - ``"z+H"`` - HN⁻¹O - Protonated z-ion (additional H from c-ion) * - **c-H** - ``"c-H"`` - H₂N - Dehydrogenated c-ion (loss of H from z-ion) * - **Immonium** - ``"i"`` - C⁻¹O⁻¹ - Amino acid immonium ions (residue-specific) Side-Chain Fragment Ions -------------------------- These ions involve side-chain cleavage and are residue-specific: .. list-table:: :header-rows: 1 :widths: 20 20 25 35 * - Ion Type - String Value - Delta Formula - Description * - **d-ion** - ``"d"`` - C₂H₃N - General side-chain loss from a-ion * - **d-ion (Val)** - ``"d-valine"`` - C₃H₆N - Valine-specific d-ion * - **da-ion** - ``"da"`` - - General da-ion (side-chain loss) * - **da-ion (Thr)** - ``"da-threonine"`` - C₂H₄NO - Threonine-specific da-ion * - **da-ion (Ile)** - ``"da-isoleucine"`` - C₄H₈N - Isoleucine-specific da-ion * - **db-ion** - ``"db"`` - - General db-ion (side-chain loss) * - **db-ion (Thr)** - ``"db-threonine"`` - C₃H₆N - Threonine-specific db-ion * - **db-ion (Ile)** - ``"db-isoleucine"`` - C₃H₆N - Isoleucine-specific db-ion * - **v-ion** - ``"v"`` - C₂H₂NO - Side-chain retention (complement of d-ion) * - **w-ion** - ``"w"`` - C₃H₃O - General side-chain retention from x-ion * - **w-ion (Val)** - ``"w-valine"`` - C₄H₆O - Valine-specific w-ion * - **wa-ion** - ``"wa"`` - - General wa-ion (side-chain retention) * - **wa-ion (Thr)** - ``"wa-threonine"`` - C₃H₄O₂ - Threonine-specific wa-ion * - **wa-ion (Ile)** - ``"wa-isoleucine"`` - C₅H₈O - Isoleucine-specific wa-ion * - **wb-ion** - ``"wb"`` - - General wb-ion (side-chain retention) * - **wb-ion (Thr)** - ``"wb-threonine"`` - C₄H₆O - Threonine-specific wb-ion * - **wb-ion (Ile)** - ``"wb-isoleucine"`` - C₄H₆O - Isoleucine-specific wb-ion Internal Fragment Ions ----------------------- Internal fragments result from cleavage at both N- and C-termini. Formulas are based on the mzPAF specification. .. list-table:: :header-rows: 1 :widths: 20 20 25 35 * - Ion Type - String Value - Delta Formula - Description * - **by** - ``"by"`` - C⁻¹O⁻¹ - N-terminal b-ion, C-terminal y-ion * - **ax** - ``"ax"`` - C⁻¹O⁻¹ - N-terminal a-ion, C-terminal x-ion * - **cz** - ``"cz"`` - C⁻¹O⁻¹ - N-terminal c-ion, C-terminal z-ion * - **ay** - ``"ay"`` - C⁻²O⁻² - N-terminal a-ion, C-terminal y-ion * - **az** - ``"az"`` - C⁻²H⁻¹N⁻¹O⁻² - N-terminal a-ion, C-terminal z-ion * - **bx** - ``"bx"`` - (none) - N-terminal b-ion, C-terminal x-ion * - **bz** - ``"bz"`` - C⁻¹H⁻¹N⁻¹O⁻¹ - N-terminal b-ion, C-terminal z-ion * - **cx** - ``"cx"`` - N - N-terminal c-ion, C-terminal x-ion * - **cy** - ``"cy"`` - C⁻¹H⁻¹NO⁻¹ - N-terminal c-ion, C-terminal y-ion