Boroxine benzaldehyde complex for pharmaceutical applications probed by electron interactions

Abstract

Rationale: 2,4,6-Tris(4-formylphenyl)boroxine (TFPB) is a substituted boroxine containing a benzaldehyde molecule bonded to each boron atom. Boroxine cages are an emerging class of functional nanostructures used in host-guest chemistry, and benzaldehyde is a potential radiosensitizer. Reactions initiated by low-energy electrons with such complexes may dictate and bring new fundamental knowledge for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Methods: The electron ionization properties of TFPB are investigated using a gasphase electron-molecule crossed beam apparatus coupled with a reflectron time-offlight mass spectrometer in an orthogonal geometry. Ionization and threshold energies are experimentally determined by mass spectra acquisition as a function of the electron energy.Results: The abundance of the molecular precursor cation in the mass spectrum at