Direct analysis of sugar alcohol borate complexes in plant extracts by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization fourier transform mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry (MALDI/FTMS), operating in the negative ion mode, is used to directly observe sugar alcohol borate complexes in a number of plant fractions. The method involves virtually no sample workup and, in the case of celery phloem sap, requires only 40 nL of sap to observe the borate complex. The isolation and characterization of such soluble borate complexes is important in understanding the distribution of boron in plants. The results show that the complexes are composed of two mannitol or sorbitol ligands (L) complexed to a single borate center (B). In some cases, the boron is complexed to non-alditol monosaccharides. Sustained off-resonance collision irradiation dissociation of the BL2- complex, where L is a mannitol, gives fragments that confirm the proposed structure. Complexes of larger oligosaccharides have also been successfully observed using MALDI/FTMS. Semiempirical molecular orbital calculations (AM1) of the mannitol BL2- complex show that the most favorable configuration is with carbons 3 and 4 of both mannitol residues complexed to the borate. This allows maximum interaction of the remaining hydroxyls with the borate center.     

Identification of modification sites in large biomolecules by stable isotope labeling and tandem high resolution mass spectrometry. The active site nucleophile of thiaminase I

A widely used procedure for site localization of covalent protein modifications involves proteolysis, partial chromatographic separation of the resulting complex mixture, and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to identify peptides whose molecular weight (Mr) has been increased appropriately by the modification. As found previously for MS of small molecules, this study shows that protein fragment identification can be greatly simplified by labeling the modification with stable isotopes. Further, the high resolution capabilities of Fourier transform MS make possible the direct identification of CH3/CD3-labeled peptides without chromatographic separation. Although separate Asp-N, Lys-C, and alpha-chymotrypsin digests of thiaminase I (42 kDa) yielded as many as 70 peptides, FTMS identification of the labeled peptide localized the modification site of a mechanism-based inhibitor to Arg101-Lys121, Asp90-Gly122, and Gly107-Tyr119, respectively. The measured mass difference values of the two labels agreed with that expected for CH3/CD3, 3.019 Da, with a standard deviation of 0.005 Da, providing persuasive identity verification. MS/MS fragmentation narrowed the site to Pro109-Phe118 and also caused loss of the derivative with a sulfur atom, uniquely identifying Cys113 as the thiaminase I active-site nucleophile among the 379 amino acids.     

High-resolution electrospray ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry with infrared multiphoton dissociation of glucokinase from Bacillus Stearothermophilus

Glucokinase (GK, EC 2.7.1.2), a member of the enzyme family of hexokinases, has been shown to be linked to maturity-onset diabetes of the young type II (MODY-2). Although nucleotide and amino acid sequence information are available for the human varieties, they are not known for the variety from Bacillus stearothermophilus, which is often used in protein binding studies. Here, a combination of electrospray Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) and infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) is used to obtain accurate molecular weight and preliminary amino acid sequence information for the protein. Electrospray FTMS provides evidence of a solution phase dimer. In addition, dithiothreitol reduction shows no shift in high-resolution isotopic distributions, indicating a probable absence of disulfide bonds in the protein. The partial sequence information obtained from IRMPD could be the basis for creating a DNA probe for the protein.     

The observation of chaperone-ligand noncovalent complexes with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) was applied for the study of noncovalent chaperone SecB-ligand complexes produced in solution and examined in the gas phase with the aid of electrospray ionization (ESI). Since chaperone proteins are believed to recognize and bind only with ligands with nonnative tertiary structure, this work required careful unfolding of the ligand and subsequent reaction with the intact chaperone (the noncovalent tetrameric protein, SecB). A high denaturant concentration was employed to produce nonnative structures of the OppA, and microdialysis of the resulting solutions containing the chaperone-ligand complexes was carried out to rapidly remove the denaturant prior to analysis. Multistage mass spectrometry was essential to the successful study of these complexes since the initial mass spectra indicated extensive adduction that precluded mass measurements, even after microdialysis. However, low energy collisional activation of the ions in the FTICR trap proved useful for adduct removal, and careful control of excitation level preserved the intact complexes of interest, revealing a 1:1 SecB:OppA stoichiometry. To our knowledge, these results present the first direct observation of chaperone-ligand noncovalent complexes and the highest molecular weight heterogeneous noncovalent complex observed to date by mass spectrometry. Furthermore, these results highlight the capabilities of FTICR for the study of such complex systems, and the development of a greater understanding of chaperone interactions in protein export.     

Mapping protein-protein interactions by affinity-directed mass spectrometry

A precise and rapid method for identifying sites of interaction between proteins was demonstrated; the basis of the method is direct mass spectrometric readout from the complex to determine the specific components of the proteins that interact--a method termed affinity-directed mass spectrometry. The strategy was used to define the region of interaction of a protein growth factor with a monoclonal antibody. A combination of proteolytic digestion and affinity-directed mass spectrometry was used to rapidly determine the approximate location of a continuous binding epitope within the growth factor. The precise boundaries of the binding epitope were determined by affinity-directed mass spectrometric analysis of sets of synthetic peptide ladders that span the approximate binding region. In addition to the mapping of such linear epitopes, affinity-directed mass spectrometry can be applied to the mapping of other types of molecule-molecule contacts, including ligand-receptor and protein-oligonucleotide interactions.     

CD45RC isoforms define two types of CD4 memory T cells, one of which depends on persisting antigen

A method to directly identify proteins contained in mixtures by microcolumn reversed-phase liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) is studied. In this method, the mixture of proteins is digested with a proteolytic enzyme to produce a large collection of peptides. The complex peptide mixture is then separated on-line with a tandem mass spectrometer, acquiring large numbers of tandem mass spectra. The tandem mass spectra are then used to search a protein database to identify the proteins present. Results from standard protein mixtures show that proteins present in simple mixtures can be readily identified with a 30-fold difference in molar quantity, that the identifications are reproducible, and that proteins within the mixture can be identified at low femtomole levels. Based on these studies, methodology has been developed for direct LC/MS/MS analysis of proteins enriched by immunoaffinity precipitation, specific interaction with a protein-protein fusion product, and specific interaction with a macromolecular complex. The approach described in this article provides a rapid method for the direct identification of proteins in mixtures.     

Identification of proteins by capillary electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry. Evaluation of an on-line solid-phase extraction device

Capillary electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry has been used successfully for the analysis of complex peptide mixtures. The method is limited by a relatively high concentration limit of detection and by matrix effects. Here we describe on-line coupling of a solid-phase microextraction device to a capillary electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry system. The performance of the integrated instrument was evaluated for the identification of proteins by their amino acid sequence. We report that the concentration limit of detection was improved at least 1000 fold to the low attomole/microliter range and that matrix effects were minimized by extensive sample clean-up during solid-phase extraction. We demonstrate that the implementation of a solid-phase extraction device significantly enhances capillary electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry as a method for the identification of low abundance proteins isolated from high-resolution two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels.     

Analysis of the degradation mechanisms of MHC class I-presented tumor antigenic peptides by high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: application to the design of peptidase-resistant analogs

Peptide vaccines based on the use of MHC class I restricted epitopes are currently assayed for anti-tumor and anti-viral immunotherapy. With the aim of designing minimally modified, peptidase-resistant analogs, we developed a rational approach based on a detailed understanding of the degradation mechanism of peptides in serum. Degradation of murine tumor antigen P198 and human tumor antigen MAGE-3.A1 was followed by on line high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS). This method provided high precision and sensitivity for rapid and direct analysis of degradation fragments in a complex mixture and, very importantly, precise identification of transient degradation fragments present at low concentrations. The design of structurally modified analogs, and the analysis of their degradation by on-line HPLC/ESI-MS, allowed us to to demonstrate the efficiency of local modifications in the protection of a given peptide bond towards a specific peptidase activity.     

Reverse-phase capillary high performance liquid chromatography/high performance electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: an essential tool for the characterization of complex glycoprotein digests

The B-domain of recombinant human Factor VIII comprises 909 amino acids and is extensively N- and O-glycosylated, in that at least 20 different sites are occupied by numerous carbohydrate structures. This domain was incubated with trypsin and subjected to liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis, using an electrospray orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer as the detector for a capillary reversed phase HPLC separation of the digest. The inherent high mass resolution afforded by this instrument provides both ion charge state determination and high accuracy mass measurement that are of significant advantage in defining such highly complex mixtures.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法分析高纯金属银中痕量杂质元素

高纯金属纯度分析时为了克服基体效应的影响,常采用分离基体的方法对其中痕量杂质元素进行分析测定,不仅前处理过程较为复杂,且易造成样品污染。实验以硝酸(1+1)溶解样品,在利用电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)半定量法确定高纯银中杂质种类的基础上,通过选择适当的同位素克服了质谱干扰,采用标准加入法绘制校准曲线,在不分离基体的前提下消除了银基体对痕量杂质元素测定的基体效应影响,最终实现了ICP-MS对高纯金属银中铅、砷、铜、镍、锑、锡、钯、铋8种痕量金属杂质的直接定量测定。同时在采用ICP-MS法对高纯金属银中8种痕量金属杂质元素测定后,可根据国标方法GB/T 21198.5—2007中差减法最终计算得到银的纯度。方法的检出限为0.09~1.1 μg/L,将实验方法应用于高纯金属银的实际样品分析,加标回收率为96%~106%,相对标准偏差(RSD,n=6)不大于5.0%。     

利用高分辨辉光放电质谱技术对难熔金属材料进行痕量元素定量和深度剖面分析

直接采样的高分辨辉光放电质谱(GDMS)是当今高纯固体常规分析中可用的高灵敏度分析方法之一。这种多元素分析技术通常用于主量化学成分的定量分析、监测元素质量分数随微米级深度(深度分布)的变化,或用于对多种固体和镀层上肉眼可见体积的高灵敏度的分布研究,包括纯金属、高温合金、陶瓷或其中陶瓷金属。由于GDMS的检测几乎涵盖了所有方法,因此在监测痕量级的多元素含量方面是最具成本优势的。另外,它使对在包含绝缘层和(或)镀层及两者化合物的平面上的高灵敏度的含量深度分布分析成为可能。本文着重介绍直流辉光质谱技术用于监测痕量至超含量元素分析技术目前的进展以及直接采样分析实践中应当采用的策略。     

On-line cation exchange for suppression of adduct formation in negative-ion electrospray mass spectrometry of nucleic acids

One major difficulty in the analysis of nucleic acids by electrospray mass spectrometry is represented by the affinity of the polyanionic sugar-phosphate backbone for nonvolatile cations, especially ubiquitous sodium and potassium ions. A simple on-line sample preparation system comprising a microflow pumping system and 45 x 0.8-mm-i.d. microcolumns packed with weak or strong cation-exchange resins is described for the efficient removal of cations from nucleic acid samples. Samples were analyzed by flow injection analysis at a 3-5 microL/min flow of 10 mM triethylamine in 50% water-50% acetonitrile. After on-line desalting, mass spectra of oligonucleotides revealed no significant sodium adduct peaks. Moreover, signal-to-noise ratios were greatly enhanced compared to direct injection of the samples. Electrospray mass spectrometry with on-line sample preparation allowed accurate molecular mass determinations of picomole amounts of crude oligonucleotide preparations ranging in size from 8 to 80 nucleotides within a few minutes. The good linearity of the calibration plot (R2 = 0.9988) over at least 2 orders of magnitude and a relative standard deviation in peak areas of less than 9% permitted the sensitive quantitative measurement of oligonucleotides in a concentration range of 0.2-20 microM with selected-ion monitoring. Finally, the on-line sample preparation system was evaluated for the mass spectrometric analysis of complex oligonucleotide mixtures.     

A mass spectrometric solution to the address problem of combinatorial libraries

The molecular weights of femtomole quantities of small peptides attached to polystyrene beads have been determined with imaging time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. The analysis is made possible by the selective clipping of the bond linking the peptide to a bead with trifluoroacetic acid vapor before the secondary ion mass spectrometry assay. The approach can be applied to large numbers of 30- to 60-micrometer polystyrene beads for the direct characterization of massive combinatorial libraries.     

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis of proteins in human cerebrospinal fluid

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectra of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid analyzed without prior purification are presented. Less than 100 fmol amounts of proteins in the 10,000 to 20,000 u mass range and linked to human disease (multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke) were detected in a complex mixture of proteins and peptides, in the presence of high concentrations of salts, lipids and free amino acids. The mass resolution was sufficient to distinguish between the non-hydroxylated and hydroxylated forms of a 13,400 u protein. Simple fractionation of the cerebrospinal fluid using microbore-reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography improved signal-to-noise ratios in the mass spectra. High-accuracy peptide mass mapping and database searching were utilized to confirm the identity of several proteins. The presented results show that matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry could be used as a tool to perform rapid screening of chemically altered proteins in small volumes of biological fluids.     

Site-specific localization of Epstein-Barr virus in pharyngeal carcinomas

Electrospray ionization (ESI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry has been used to characterize heterotetrameric corynebacterial sarcosine oxidase. By using a conventional quadrupole mass spectrometer, no spectra for the intact complex could be obtained (i.e., electrospraying protein at neutral pH), but spectra showing the four protein subunits were obtained when electrospraying from acidic solution. Initial low resolution ESI-FTICR mass spectra of the intact heterotetramer revealed a typical narrow charge state distribution in the range 6000 < m/z < 9000, consistent with retention of a compact structure in the gas phase, and gave a mass measurement about 1000 u higher than predicted. Efficient in-trap clean up, based upon low energy collisionally induced dissociation of adducts, allowed significant improvement in mass measurement accuracy. The present results represent the largest heteromultimeric protein complex successfully analyzed using FTICR mass spectrometry, and clearly illustrate the importance of sample clean up methods for large molecule characterization.     

Novel assay for identification of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase by a priority-based strategy in mass spectrometry

A novel assay for the identification of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase in human umbilical artery tissue by a priority-based strategy in the mass spectrometry was developed.The protein extract was separated by SDS-PAGE,and then an entire band at 96 KDa was excised and digested by trypsin.The digested peptides were separated by capillary C18 analytical column and detected by ESI-MS-MS.In the direct data-dependent method(also called traditional method),the semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase(SSAO)cannot be identified by LC-ESI-MS-MS.Compared with the traditional method,our assay by a priority-based strategy in the mass spectrometry can successfully identify the target protein-SSAO in the complex biological sample.As 60μg,120μg,240μg of total protein extract were loaded on the SDS-PAGE,the Mascot result showed that SSAO score was 46,86 and 137,the sequence coverage was 2%,5%and 10%,and the peptide count was 2,6 and 10,respectively.The MS/MS spectra of two unique peptides of SSAO were confirmed by manual identification.The band at 96 KDa included SSAO was validated by the Western blot.The assay significantly improved the score and coverage of target protein and enhanced the identification of reliability and the confidence.     

直流辉光放电质谱法测定高纯氧化镧中25种杂质元素

利用铜粉作为导电介质, 与氧化镧粉末混合均匀, 压片, 采用直流辉光放电质谱法(dc-GDMS)测定了高纯氧化镧粉末中的部分杂质元素含量。考察了辉光放电条件, 如放电电流、放电气体流量、离子源温度以及压片条件, 如两种粉末的混合比例、压片机压力等因素对放电稳定性以及灵敏度的影响, 优化了实验条件;尝试了将镧, 氧和铜的总信号归一化进行计算的方法, 用差减法计算了高纯氧化镧粉末中的杂质元素含量。将铜粉作为试剂空白, 连续测定11次, 统计各待测元素检出限为0.005~0.34 μg/g;对高纯氧化镧粉末样品独立测定6次, 测定结果与电感耦合等离子体质谱法基本吻合, 相对标准偏差在20%以内。     

Mass spectrometry of sterols. Electron ionization induced fragmentation of C-4-alkylated cholesterols

The electron impact ionization of C-4-alkylated cholest-5-en-3beta-hydroxysterols has been investigated. The mass spectra of the C-4-alkylated cholesterols contain a number of ions in the high mass region for which analogous ions are not found in the spectrum of cholesterol. Detailed studies of the composition and origin of these ions have been made by high resolution mass spectrometry and analysis of metastable ions. In addition, a large number of isotopically (deuterium and 18O) substituted C-4-alkylated analogues have been prepared to assist in the interpretation of the spectra. The combined results indicate the occurrence of a number of very complex and unusual electron ionization induced fragmentations. Most notable of the findings reported herein concerns the demonstration of the formation of an ion involving loss of the elements of ring A with an intramolecular shift of the oxygen and hydrogen atoms of the hydroxyl function to the charge-retaining species.     

Ion/molecule reactions for improved effective mass resolution in electrospray mass spectrometry

Tandem mass spectrometry is shown to improve the effective mass resolution in electrospray mass spectrometry. The technique involves selecting a population of ions within a narrow range of mass-to-charge values and allowing the ions to undergo proton transfer reactions. The shifts in mass-to-charge ratios associated with product ions formed by proton transfer allow for mass and charge assignment. The success of the technique relies on the relative enrichment of ions of a particular charge state that occurs in the mass-to-charge selection step. This approach can be used to extend the polymer mass range amenable to measurement, analyze mixtures that might otherwise be too complex for reliable mass measurements, and improve mass measurement precision when a mixture of cations is present within a given charge state. The technique is illustrated with a quadrupole ion trap using multiply-charged ions of cytochrome c, transfer ribonucleic acid from E. coli, strain W, and a synthetic deoxyribonucleic acid 30-mer.     

Characterization of a synthetic 37-residue fragment of a monoclonal antibody against herpes virus by capillary electrophoresis/electrospray (ionspray) mass spectrometry and 252Cf plasma desorption mass spectrometry

A peptide comprising 37 amino acids of the antigen binding site of a monoclonal antibody directed against glycoprotein D of herpes simplex virus was synthesized. The synthetic peptide and the impurities formed in the synthesis were characterized by capillary electrophoresis/ionspray mass spectrometry and by 252Cf plasma desorption-time of flight mass spectrometry. The measured average molecular mass of the synthetic peptide was 4627.16 Da, which was only 0.08 Da higher than the calculated value (4627.08 Da). The plasma desorption mass spectrum of the synthetic peptide showed a protonated molecule at m/z 4624.1, which was 4 Da lower than the calculated one (4628.09 Da). The amino acid sequence of the peptide was confirmed in part by electrospray (ionspray) mass spectrometry using a high nozzle skimmer voltage difference. Five impurities were separated and identified by capillary electrophoresis/mass spectrometry and two of them also appeared in the plasma desorption mass spectrum.