The formation and fragmentation of multiply metal-coordinated oligonucleotides was studied by nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry in the positive ion mode. Fundamental aspects of the gas-phase behavior of metal-oligonucleotide complexes are revealed. The addition of transition metal ions, such as iron(II), iron(III), and zinc(II), leads to very stable metal-oligonucleotide complexes which show heavily altered fragmentation patterns in contrast to uncomplexed oligonucleotides. The site of metal ion complexation was located by collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments. It was found that all three metal ions investigated predominantly coordinate to the central phosphate groups of the oligonucleotides. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the fragmentation of such complexes depends highly upon the metal ion complexed as well as on the sequence of the nucleobases in the oligonucleotide. Besides their function as cofactors of proteins, especially in replication, transcription, and translation, they induce folding and crosslinking of nucleic acids and result in a stabilization of these structures. Such interaction can be highly specific, like the linkage of two guanines by cisplatin complexes, or unspecific, like backbone charge neutralization on a DNA double strand [1,2]. Likewise, metal ions are involved in the stabilization of RNA, ribozymes, and telomers [3][4][5]. In medicine, metal ions find broad therapeutic application on DNA, as cisplatin complexes and related drugs form DNA-adducts, which act as toxic agents in tumor tissue [6]. These drugs are widely applied even though the mechanism on the molecular level is not fully elucidated yet [7]. Furthermore, there are approaches to use metal ions as markers for improved diagnostic applications [8 -14]. The application of metal ions may even hold more potential, which can be taken advantage of once the interactions of metal ions with nucleic acid structures are better understood. Several NMR studies have been published with the aim of elucidating the metal ion binding pattern [15][16][17]. Although several approaches have been made to determine the coordination sites, no general rule on how metal ions bind to nucleic acid structures could be established yet.The interaction of metal ions with nucleic acids has also been investigated using mass spectrometry. In an early study, Christian et al. describe the influence of iron on oligonucleotides as matrix dependent [18]. Another study describes the influence of Mg 2ϩ , Na ϩ , and UO 2 2ϩ on oligonucleotides and demonstrates that the phosphodiester groups are considered the most probable binding sites. Additionally, it is reported that these metal ions bind preferentially to the central thymine region of the analyzed octa-and dodecamer [14].By exploring oligonucleotides with their phosphate groups completely occupied by alkali or earthalkali ions, Gross and coworkers observed that the product ion spectra of such metal complexed oligonucleotides differ significantly from the spectra of their uncomplexed analo...