Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry are used to systematically study ulmic acid extracts taken from a sediment sample in the Gulf of Mexico. The sample, which is extracted with methanol, is taken from the ecosystem of the bryozoan Bugula neritina. Ulmic acid is a loosely defined group of molecules that are the alcohol extracts of naturally occurring organic matter. The FT-ICR analysis focuses on carbon compounds C16-C24 and C35. C35 is examined by FT-ICR because its structure may represent the bryophan ring, the central structural feature in all bryostatins.
Thomas Manning, Michael Land, Emily Rhodes, Rick Loftis, Crystal Tabron, Giso Abadi, Leslie Golden, Helen J. Cooper, TuKiet T. Lam, Alan G. Marshall, Dennis R. Phillips, and Jack Rudloe
"Analysis of Ulmic Acid by Mass Spectrometry,"
Georgia Journal of Science, Vol. 63, No. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.gaacademy.org/gjs/vol63/iss2/2