Neutral loss of amino acid residues from protonated peptides in collision-induced dissociation generates N- or C-terminal sequence ladders

The widespread occurrence of the neutral loss of one to six amino acid residues as neutral fragments from doubly protonated tryptic peptides is documented for 23 peptides with individual sequences. Neutral loss of amino acids from the N-terminus of doubly charged tryptic peptides results in doubly charged y-ions, forming a ladder-like series with the ions [M + 2H](2+) = y(max) (2+), y(max - 1) (2+), y(max - 2) (2+), etc. An internal residue such as histidine, proline, lysine or arginine appears to favor this type of fragmentation, although it was sometimes also observed for peptides without this structure. For doubly protonated non-tryptic peptides with one of these residues at or near the N-terminus, we observed neutral loss from the C-terminus, resulting in a doubly charged b-type ion ladder. The analyses were performed by Q-TOF tandem mass spectrometry, facilitating the recognition of neutral loss ladders by their 2+ charge state and the conversion of the observed mass differences into reliable sequence information. It is shown that the neutral loss of amino acid residues requires low collision offset values, a simple mechanistic explanation based on established fragmentation rules is proposed and the utility of this neutral loss fragmentation pathway as an additional source for dependable peptide sequence information is documented.     

Identification of formylglycine in sulfatases by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

C(alpha)-Formylglycine, the catalytic amino acid residue in the active site of sulfatases, is generated by post-translational modification of a cysteine or serine residue. We describe a highly sensitive procedure for the detection of C(alpha)-formylglycine-containing peptides in tryptic digests of sulfatase proteins. The protocol is based on the formation of hydrazone derivatives of C(alpha)-formylglycine-containing peptides when using dinitrophenylhydrazine as a matrix for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). The hydrazone derivatives desorb and ionize with high efficiency and can be detected in the sub-femtomole range. The presence of C(alpha)-formylglycine is indicated by a mass increment of 180.13 u, corresponding to the hydrazone moiety, and also by a unique C-terminal fragment ion, characteristic of sulfatases, that becomes prominent in MALDI post-source decay mass spectra of the hydrazone derivatives.     

The measurement of high proton affinities for a variety of metallic compounds: a new approach by flame-ion mass spectrometry

A small amount (≤ 10⁻⁶ mol fraction) of four alkaline earth metals, tin and yttrium were introduced into five, premixed, fuel-rich, H₂–O₂–N₂ flames at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range 1820–2400 K. Aqueous salt solutions of the metals were sprayed into the premixed flame gas as an aerosol using an atomizer technique. Ions in a flame were observed by sampling flame gas through a nozzle into a mass spectrometer. The concentrations of the major neutral metallic species present in the flame were calculated from thermodynamic data currently available. The principal metallic ions observed were AOH⁺ (A = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Sn) and A(OH)₂⁺ (A = Y), formed initially by proton transfer to AO and OAOH from H₃O⁺, a natural flame ion. Except for Mg, the ions were also produced by chemi-ionization processes. By adjusting the concentration(s) of the salt solution in the atomizer, it was found that a pair of ions could be brought into equilibrium within the time scale of the flame; the pairs included H₃O⁺ with a metal ion or two metallic ions. Because water is a major product of combustion, a very large difference in proton affinity PA⁰(AO) − PA⁰(H₂O) ≤ 490 kJ mol⁻¹ (117 kcal mol⁻¹) could be attempted for the proton transfer equilibrium. Using PA⁰(H₂O) = 691.0 kJ mol⁻¹ (165.2 kcal mol⁻¹) as a reference base to anchor the proton affinity scale, ion ratio measurements led to proton affinity PA⁰ values of 766, 912, 1004, 1184, 1201, and 1222 kJ mol⁻¹ (183, 218, 240, 283, 287, and 292 kcal mol⁻¹) corrected to 298 K for OYOH, SnO, MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO, respectively; of these, only the value for OYOH has not been reported previously. If it is assumed that the neutral thermodynamic data are correct (although some appear to be in error), the uncertainties in the PA results reported here are ± 21 kJ mol⁻¹ (5 kcal mol⁻¹). The realization that these equilibria can be achieved in flames provides a new approach to consolidate and build the high end of the proton affinity ladder, primarily of metallic species which are not accessible at lower temperatures.     

蛋白质组学中基质辅助激光解吸电离的基质研究进展

基质辅助激光解吸电离(MALDI)技术是近年来发展起来的新的质谱离子化技术。本文较为系统地综述了应用于蛋白质组学中的MALDI基质的最新进展以及不同的基质的优缺点及应用范围,并且归纳了其发展趋势。     

Electrospray tandem mass spectrometric analysis of zeaxanthin and its oxidation products

Carotenoids have been implicated in protection of the eye from light-mediated photo-toxicity caused by free radicals. Under conditions of normal oxidative stress the carotenoids serve as protective antioxidants; however, when the oxidative stress exceeds the antioxidant capacity, carotenoids can be oxidized into numerous cleavage products. The determination and identification of oxidized carotenoids in biological samples remains a major challenge due to the small sample size and low stability of these compounds. We investigated the reaction of various zeaxanthin cleavage products with O-ethyl hydroxylamine to evaluate their levels in a biological sample. For this, a sensitive and specific electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) was developed, avoiding the classical lower sensitive and specific HPLC-UV and fluorescence absorption methods. Protonated molecules [M + H](+) of carotenoids upon collision-induced dissociation produced a number of structurally characteristic product ions. A series of complicated clusters of product ions differing in 14 (CH(2))and 26 (C(2)H(2))Da was characteristic of the polyene chain of intact carotenoids. All carotenoid ethyl oximes of zeaxanthin cleavage products were characterized by the losses of 60 and 61 Da in their MS/MS spectra. Through the application of the LC/MS/MS method, we identified two oxime derivatives of 3-hydroxy-beta-ionone and 3-hydroxy-14'-apocarotenal with protonated molecules at m/z 252 and m/z 370 respectively, in a human eye sample.     

激光解吸电离质谱法分析富勒烯

论述了用激光解吸电离谱法分析富勒烯。因在电离过程中富勒分子不发生裂解，因此这种方法可直接用于富勒烯混合物的分析而勿需任何预分离。还给出了用本法分析较大、较稳定富勒烯分子的质谱图。     

月桂酸毛细管胶束电动色谱-质谱测定农田水中的三嗪类农药

基于月桂酸可以直接进入电喷雾电离源,且对三嗪类农药在电喷雾电离源的电离强度没有明显的影响,建立了以月桂酸为表面活性剂的毛细管胶束电动色谱-电喷雾质谱联用(MEKC-ESIMS)同时测定8种三嗪类农药的新方法。在以40 mmol/L月桂酸和140 mmol/L氨水作为缓冲溶液、70%的异丙醇(含3.0mmol/L的醋酸铵)作为鞘液的条件下,各组分分离良好;结合固相萃取(SPE)技术对农田水样进行测定,各组分检出限为0.040~0.10μg/L;回收率在87.2%~97.3%之间。     

Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) as a Useful Tool for Fast Evaluation of Anion and Cation Complexation Abilities of a Cyclam Derivative

Electrospray ionization mass espectrometry (ESI-MS) has been used for the study of a cyclam derivative noncovalent interactions. At acidic pH, diprotonated macrocycle bound to different anionic species were observed. The selectivity shown by competitive experiments is rationalized with the help of semiempirical theoretical calculations. At basic pH, the base peak corresponded to the macrocycle-alkaline metal complexes, and again competition experiments showed different binding strength. Finally, experiments carried out in the presence of transition metal salts allowed the detection of the complexes present in the mixture and revealed their different kinetic behavior.     

Fe3O4/TiO2 纳米材料靶上脱盐的基质辅助激光解析/电离质谱新方法研究

建立了一种简便、高效的靶上脱盐新方法。利用Fe3O4/TiO2磁性纳米材料对肽段的吸附作用,将其作为载体用于靶上肽段富集和脱盐。在对纳米材料使用量、浸洗条件进行优化的基础上,成功地鉴定了溶于10mol/L尿素溶液的100fmol的肌红蛋白样品,也对溶于3mol/L尿素溶液中的10fmol的肌红蛋白样品进行了成功地分析鉴定。通过对肌红蛋白样品进行预处理和质谱分析重复实验,表明该方法重现性好,且简便、高效,所需时间短,一次可同时处理多个样品,易于实现通量化,为有效地解决目前蛋白质组分析中所面临的基质辅助激光解析/离子化飞行时间质谱耐盐性差的问题提供了一种新的手段。     

富勒烯及其衍生物的质谱研究

本文制备了一系列富勒烯及其衍生物，并利用多种质谱技术进行了鉴定、表征、揭示了它们在离子源条件下的稳定性及解规律。这些富勒烯及其省生物在ＦＤＭＳ、ＩＳＭＳ中均得到了较强的准分子离子峰且碎片峰很少。结果表昨ＦＤＭＳ，ＬＳＩＭＳ技术均适于富勒烯及其衍生物的定性分析，是目前富勒烯分析鉴定中较好的方法。