Analysis of DNA Modifications 

Organocatalysis is an expanding new field to develop new ways of creating chemical compounds. To develop new reactions and identify new molecules a strong analytical support is necessary. We utilize analytical methods and especially mass spectrometry (MS) to supply mechanistic, kinetic and thermodynamic information, that can help to optimize organocatalytic reactions and reduce side products and waste. The method is fast, sensitive enough to detect small amounts and able to give information about structural elements of a molecule to help structural elucidation of unknowns. Mass spectrometry is used for time-dependent analysis of reactions, allowing even metastable intermediates to be detect and, thus, providing valuable data for optimized synthetic planning.
We try to study and understand the organocatalytic reaction mechanisms using mass spectrometry with different ionization sources and by using MS/MS-methods for the characterization of low concentrated and often short-lived reaction intermediates.