Synthesis, Purification, and Structural Characterization of the Dimethyldiselenoarsinate Anion

A novel arsenic−selenium solution species was synthesized by reacting equimolar sodium selenite and sodium dimethylarsinate with 10 mol equiv of glutathione (pH 7.5) in aqueous solution. The solution species showed a single 77Se NMR resonance at 112.8 ppm. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) using an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) as the simultaneous arsenic-, selenium-, sulfur-, and carbon-specific detector revealed an arsenic−selenium moiety with an As:Se molar ratio of 1:2. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) of the chromatographically purified compound showed a molecular mass peak at m/z 263 in the negative ion mode. Fragmentation of the parent ion (ESI-MS-MS) produced (CH3)2As- and Se2 - fragments. Arsenic and selenium extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) of the purified species revealed two As−C interactions at 1.943 Å and two As−Se interactions at 2.279 Å. On the basis of these results this novel solution species is identified as the dimethyldiselenoarsinate anion.