Patent Document ID: 9075073
Application ID: 14624783
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A compound-analyzing method for detecting a cathinone-based compound having cathinone as a basic skeleton and for estimating a structure of the cathinone-based compound, using a chromatograph mass spectrometer capable of an MS/MS measurement, the compound-analyzing method comprising: a) a measurement execution step, in which a sample which contains or possibly contains a compound which is an analysis target is separated into components by a chromatograph and two or three kinds of MS/MS measurements are repeatedly performed on the sample, the two or three kinds of measurements including: a1) one or both of following two kinds of measurements: an MRM measurement, in which a benzoyl part produced by α-cleavage during an ionization process is selected as a precursor ion, a benzene part produced by dissociation of a carbonyl group from the benzoyl part is selected as a product ion, and a plurality of MRM transitions corresponding to possible values of a mass of a third functional group bonded to a benzene ring are specified as measurement conditions; and a second product-ion scan measurement performed for a benzoyl part produced by α-cleavage during an ionization process, in which each of a plurality of kinds of benzoyl parts corresponding to the possible mass values of the third functional group is selected as a precursor ion; and a2) a first product-ion scan measurement performed for an amine part produced by α-cleavage during an ionization process, in which each of a plurality of kinds of amine parts corresponding to possible values of a total mass of a first functional group and a second functional group respectively bonded to different sites on the amine part is selected as a precursor ion; b) a compound presence checking step, in which a presence of a cathinone-based compound is judged by determining whether or not a common peak exists at a same retention time on chromatograms respectively corresponding to the two or three kinds of measurements, the chromatograms being created based on data respectively obtained by the MRM measurement and/or the second product-ion scan measurement as well as the first product-ion scan measurement; and c) a structure estimation step, in which a kind of the third functional group is estimated based on the data obtained by the MRM measurement and/or the second product-ion scan measurement, kinds of the first functional group and the second functional group are estimated based on the data obtained by the first product-ion scan measurement, and results of these estimations are combined to estimate a structure of a cathinone-based compound whose presence is confirmed in the compound presence checking step.