A systematic approach toward comparing electrospray ionization efficiencies of derivatized and non‐derivatized amino acids and biogenic amines

Ionization efficiency (IE) in mass spectrometry (MS) has been studied for many different compounds, and different IE scales have been constructed in order to quantitatively characterize IE. In the case of MS, derivatization has been used to increase the sensitivity of the method and to lower the limits of detection. However, the influence of derivatization on IE across different compounds and different derivatization reagents has not been thoroughly researched, so that practitioners do not have information on the IE‐enhancing abilities of different derivatization reagents. Moreover, measuring IE via direct infusion of compounds cannot be considered fully adequate. Since derivatized compounds are in complex mixtures, a chromatographic method is needed to separate these compounds to minimize potential matrix effects. In this work, an IE measurement system with a chromatographic column was developed for mainly amino acids and some biogenic amines. IE measurements with liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI/MS) were carried out, and IE scales were constructed with a calibration curve for compounds with and without derivatization reagent diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate. Additionally, eluent composition effects on ionization were investigated. Results showed that derivatization increases IE for most of the compounds (by average 0.9 and up to 2‐2.5 logIE units) and derivatized compounds have more similar logIE values than without derivatization. Mobile phase composition effects on ionization efficiencies were negligible. It was also noted that the use of chromatographic separation instead of flow injection mode slightly increases IE. In this work, for the first time, IE enhancement of derivatization reagents was quantified under real LC/ESI/MS conditions and obtained logIE values of derivatized compounds were linked with the existing scale.     

Evaluation and determination of the cyclofructans–amino acid complex binding pattern by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The noncovalent complex interactions between cyclofructans, a new class of cyclic oligosaccharide hosts, and various amino acids have been characterized by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. The 1 : 1 stoichiometry of cyclofructans and amino acid complexes was confirmed by their mass‐to‐charge ratio in positive mode. Cyclofructans (CFs)–amino acid complexes and cyclodextrin–amino acid complexes exhibited distinctive different fragment behaviors in collision‐induced dissociation experiments. Coupled with the results of ¹H NMR and nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy, cyclofructan–amino acid complexes were deduced to be rim complexes via formation hydrogen bonding and ion–dipole forces. The interaction pattern could be controlled by changing the pH condition. In neutral solution, amino acids are located on the positive side of CFs, although moved to the negative side pocket constructed by 3‐OH oxygen of furanose ring and the crown ether oxygen in acid condition. In addition, theory calculation for geometry optimization of Trp and CFs was performed, which was in good agreement with the experimental results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Open-tubular capillary electrochromatography-mass spectrometry with sheathless nanoflow electrospray ionization for analysis of amino acids and peptides

A novel, rugged sheathless capillary electrochromatography-electrospray ionization (CEC-ESI) device, in which an open-tubular separation capillary and an electrospray tip are integrated with a Nafion tubing junction, is coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of amino acids and peptides. A stable electrospray was generated at nanoflow rates by applying a positive electrical potential at the Nafion membrane junction. To sustain the stable spray, an electroosmotic flow (EOF) to the spray was supported by coating the fused silica capillary with Lupamin, a high-molecular-weight linear positively charged polyvinylamine (PVAm) polymer, which also minimizes analyte adsorption. Electrochromatographic separation of amino acids and peptides was further enhanced by the chromatographic selectivity of Lupamin stationary phase for these molecules. The device was very reliable and reproducible for CEC-ESI-MS analyses of amino acids and peptides for over a hundred injections. The separation and detection behaviors of amino acids and peptides under different conditions including pH, concentration, and composition of mobile phases on Lupamin-coated and uncoated capillaries have been investigated. The relationship between nano electrospray stability and EOF is discussed.     

A novel rearrangement in electrospray ionization multistage tandem mass spectrometry of amino acid ester cyclohexyl phosphoramidates of AZT

Several amino acid ester cyclohexyl phosphoramidates of AZT as anti-HIV prodrugs were synthesized and investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)). A novel methoxy group migration from the carbonyl group to the phosphoryl group was observed in ESI-MS2. This migration is believed to be a general pathway for ions with a methyl ester moiety at the gamma-position to a phosphoric acid moiety, which is assisted with metal ions such as Li(+), Na(+) and K(+). Coordination between metal ions with both the carbonyl oxygen and phosphoryl oxygen might be a key factor responsible for this migration.     

Proximate composition,amino acid and fatty acid composition of fish maws

Fish maws are commonly recommended and consumed in Asia over many centuries because it is believed to have some traditional medical properties. This study highlights and provides new information on the proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid composition of fish maws of Cynoscion acoupa, Congresox talabonoides and Sciades proops. The results indicated that fish maws were excellent protein sources and low in fat content. The proteins in fish maws were rich in functional amino acids (FAAs) and the ratio of FAAs and total amino acids in fish maws ranged from 0.68 to 0.69. Among species, croaker C. acoupa contained the most polyunsaturated fatty acids, arachidonic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapntemacnioc acid, showing the lowest value of index of atherogenicity and index of thrombogenicity, showing the highest value of hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio, which is the most desirable.     

Cold-spray ionization mass spectrometry: principle and applications

A direct solution analysis method, cold-spray ionization (CSI) mass spectrometry (MS), a variant of electrospray (ESI) MS operating at low temperature (ca -80 to 10 degrees C), allows the facile and precise characterization of labile organic species, especially those in which non-covalent bonding interactions are prominent. We applied this method to investigations of the solution structures of many labile organic species, including unstable reagents and reaction intermediates, asymmetric catalysts, supramolecules and even primary biomolecules. Remarkable analytical results were obtained for highly ordered supramolecules using the CSI method. Whereas conventional ESI is not applicable to these compounds because of their instability to heat and/or air, CSI affords multiply charged molecular ions with many solvent molecules attached. Investigation of the constitution of Grignard reagents in solution is extremely challenging, but CSI-MS allowed us to identify one of the key structures in THF solution. Recently, this method was adopted for investigations of the solution structures of primary biomolecules such as nucleosides, amino acids, sugars and lipids, revealing singly charged Na(+) adducts of large clusters (chain structures), presumably linked by non-covalent interactions, including hydrogen bonding and/or hydrophobic interactions. The principle of the CSI method and applications of the method to a wide variety of labile organic species and primary biomolecules in solution are described.     

Electrospray ionization of nucleic acid aptamer/small molecule complexes for screening aptamer selectivity

Molecular recognition of small molecule ligands by the nucleic acid aptamers for tobramycin, ATP, and FMN has been examined using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Mass spectrometric data for binding stoichiometry and relative binding affinity correlated well with solution data for tobramycin aptamer complexes, in which aptamer/ligand interactions are mediated by hydrogen bonds. For the ATP and FMN aptamers, where ligand interactions involve both hydrogen bonding and significant pi-stacking, the relative binding affinities determined by MS did not fully correlate with results obtained from solution experiments. Some high-affinity aptamer/ligand complexes appeared to be destabilized in the gas phase by internal Coulombic repulsion. In CAD experiments, complexes with a greater number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds exhibited greater gas-phase stability even in cases when solution binding affinities were equivalent. These results indicate that in at least some cases, mass spectrometric data on aptamer/ligand binding affinities should be used in conjunction with complementary techniques to fully assess aptamer molecular recognition properties.     

Analysis of native amino acids by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: comparative study between two sources and interfaces

The analytical performances of two triple-quadrupole instruments, which differ in their atmospheric-pressure sources, were evaluated for native amino acid analysis. The Applied Biosystems/Sciex API 300 instrument was equipped with a turboIon Spray source and a curtain gas interface while the Waters/Micromass Quattro Ultima instrument was characterized by its Z-spray source. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of native amino acids requires volatile ion-pairing mobile phase additives (mainly perfluorinated carboxylic acids). The effects of the structure and concentration of the ion-pairing reagents as well as the organic modifier percentage on the electrospray response of amino acids were studied in detail. The most favourable chromatographic conditions depend strongly on the mass spectrometer used. Several instrumental parameters were also studied, including spray voltage, transmission lens voltages, temperature of desolvation and auxiliary gas flow rates. The results show substantial qualitative differences depending on the instrument geometry. The quantitative performances of the two triple-quadrupole mass spectrometers were evaluated in terms of limits of detection and quantification. The effects of the matrix on the analyte ionization were also examined, and the long-term stability of the electrospray performance was studied over 12 h using a mobile phase containing the perfluorinated ion-pairing reagents. The study provides information on the robustness of the MS instrument and its detection sensitivity towards native amino acid analysis. It appears that each instrument has its good and bad points since one provides higher sensitivity while another is more robust.     

A compilation of amino acid analyses of proteins

The amino acid analyses of 186 proteins are given as residues per 1000 residues. Additional information as carbohydrate composition, content of uncomon amino acids, and sources of all proteins are also presented.     

Influence of mobile phase,source parameters and source type on electrospray ionization efficiency in negative ion mode

Electrospray ionization (ESI) efficiency is known to be affected by the properties of the analytes, source design and source parameters. In this study, the ionization efficiency of 17 acidic compounds at various conditions in ESI negative ion mode was evaluated. Namely, the influence of organic solvent content in the mobile phase, ionization source parameters, ionization source geometry and functionality (conventional ESI, ESI with thermal focussing and with additional internal nebulizer gas) was studied. It was observed that the ionization efficiency in thermal focussing ESI is only marginally affected by the organic solvent composition, while for conventional ESI and ESI with internal nebulizer gas, the ionization efficiency increases significantly with increasing organic modifier content. For all ionization sources and mobile phase compositions, the ionization efficiency values between different setups showed good correlation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and structural studies of peptides containing a glucose-derived furanoid sugar amino acid

Conformational analysis of peptides containing a glucose-derived furanoid sugar amino acid (Gaa) by detailed NMR and constrained MD studies revealed that peptides with repeating Gaa-Leu-Val units had conformational signatures very similar to those of linear homooligomers of Gaa.     

Analysis of native amino acid and peptide enantiomers by high-performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometry was used for the separation and detection of amino acid and peptide enantiomers. With detection limits as low as 250 pg, 25 amino acids enantiomers were baseline resolved on a Chirobiotic T chiral stationary phase. APCI demonstrated an order of magnitude better sensitivity over electrospray ionization (ESI) for free amino acids and low molecular mass peptides at the high LC flow-rates necessary for rapid analysis. As the peptide chain length increased (peptides with M(r) > or = 300 Da), however, ESI proved to be the more ideal atmospheric pressure ionization source. A mobile phase consisting of 1% (w/w) ammonium trifluoroacetate in methanol and 0.1% (w/w) formic acid in water increased the sensitivity of the APCI method significantly. A step gradient was then used to separate simultaneously all 19 native protein amino acid enantiomers in less than 20 min using extracted ion chromatograms.     

Micellar-mediated shifts of ionization constants of amino acids and peptides

The acid-base dissociation constants, K_a, of amino acids and small peptides were determined in both aqueous and micellar solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide by potentiometric and chromatographic means. The observed differences in pK_a values between micellar media and aqueous solutions ranged between 0.23 and 2.21 units. The micellar-mediated pK_a shifts can be attributed to different solute-micelle interactions, mainly hydrophobic and electrostatic forces. The implications of the change in acid-base behavior on separation selectivity in micellar liquid chromatography and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography are discussed.     

Effect of instrument tuning on the detectabilityof biopolymers in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of multiply charged biopolymer ions of different molecular size revealed a strong influence of tuning parameters on their detectability in quadrupole ion trap and triple quadrupole mass spectrometers. Hence, after optimizing the ion optical parameters with the signal of the 4- charge state of (dT)(24) (low charge state tuning), a tenfold increase in the signal-to-noise ratio for a mixture of oligodeoxythymidylic acids (n = 12-18) was obtained compared with the results achieved with tune parameters optimized with a synthetic 80-mer oligodeoxynucleotide. By contrast, a detection limit in the upper femtomole region could only be reached for a 104-mer oligodeoxynucleotide utilizing the 24- charge state of the 80-mer (high charge state tuning). The same effect was observed for proteins investigated in the positive ion mode using low and high charge states of cytochrome c and carbonic anhydrase, respectively, for instrument tuning. By comparing the settings for low and high charge state tuning, it became obvious that the most significant difference was observed in the potential applied to the heated metal capillary used to transfer ions from the atmospheric pressure to the vacuum region of the ion source. Taking advantage of the optimized tuning procedure, the molecular mass of a 61 base pair product of polymerase chain reaction was accurately determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry on-line interfaced to ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.     

Direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions catalyzed by amino acids and small peptides

In nature there are at least nineteen different acyclic amino acids that act as the building blocks of polypeptides and proteins with different functions. Here we report that alpha-amino acids, beta-amino acids, and chiral amines containing primary amine functions catalyze direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions with high enantioselectivities. Moreover, the amino acids can be combined into highly modular natural and unusual small peptides that also catalyze direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions with high stereoselectivities, to furnish the corresponding aldol products with up to >99 % ee. Simple amino acids and small peptides can thus catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions with stereoselectivities matching those of natural enzymes that have evolved over billions of years. A small amount of water accelerates the asymmetric aldol reactions catalyzed by amino acids and small peptides, and also increases their stereoselectivities. Notably, small peptides and amino acid tetrazoles were able to catalyze direct asymmetric aldol reactions with high enantioselectivities in water, while the parent amino acids, in stark contrast, furnished nearly racemic products. These results suggest that the prebiotic oligomerization of amino acids to peptides may plausibly have been a link in the evolution of the homochirality of sugars. The mechanism and stereochemistry of the reactions are also discussed.     

Kinetic method for the simultaneous chiral analysis of different amino acids in mixtures

The kinetic method has been extended to enantiomeric excess (ee) determinations on amino acids present in mixtures. Singly charged trimeric clusters [Cu(II)(ref*)(2)(A(m)) - H](+) are readily generated by electrospraying solutions containing Cu(II), a chiral reference ligand (ref*), and the amino acids (analytes A(m), m = 1-3). A trimeric cluster ion for each amino acid is individually mass-selected and then collisionally activated to cause dissociation by competitive loss of either the reference ligand or the analyte. For each analyte in the mixture, as shown from separate experiments, the logarithm of the ratio of the fragment abundances for the complex containing one enantiomer of this analyte expressed relative to that for the fragments of the corresponding complex containing the other enantiomer is linearly related to the enantiomeric composition of the amino acid. Formation and dissociation of each trimeric complex ion are shown to occur independently of the presence of other analytes. Chiral selectivity appears to be an intrinsic property and the chiral selectivity R(chiral(m)) measured from the mixture of analytes is equal to R(chiral) measured for the pure analyte. The sensitive nature of the methodology and the linear relationship between the logarithm of the fragment ion abundance ratio and the optical purity, characteristic of the kinetic method, allow the determination of chiral impurities of less than 2% ee in individual compounds present in mixtures by simply recording the ratios of fragment ion abundances in a tandem mass spectrum.     

氨基酸组成相同序列不同的小分子多肽的液相色谱-质谱联用分析

多肽组学是近年来兴起的一门新型学科,质谱已成为多肽组学研究的强有力手段．然而,用于检测具有相同氨基酸组成但序列不同的多肽时,只能给出等同的分子离子峰,在多肽结构解析上受到一定限制．因此,发展色谱分离．质谱检测联用技术是分析具有相同氨基酸组成但序列不同的多肽的有效途径．本文建立了一种氨基酸组成相同序列不同的小分子多肽的反相液相色谱分离-电喷雾离子化质谱检测新方法．该方法采用高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术,以两种三肽Gly．Ser．Phe和Gly．Phe．Ser为模式样品对象,考察了小分子多肽在不同流动相组成、流动相添加剂及pH等条件下的液相色谱行为,并讨论其保留机理．研究结果表明,在最优化的实验条件下,该方法稳定性好,重现性高,为多肽组学研究中的多肽解析提供科学的分析方法．     

A compilation of amino acid analyses of proteins

The amino acid analyses of 183 proteins, as residues per 1000 residues, are given. In addition the carbohydrate content and the content of any noncommon amino acids are also given. The sources of all proteins are presented.     

Study of non-covalent complexation between catechin derivatives and peptides by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The recent development of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has allowed its use to study molecular interactions driven by non-covalent forces. ESI-MS has been used to detect non-covalent complexes between proteins and metals, ligands and peptides and interactions involving DNA, RNA, oligonucleotides and drugs. Surprisingly, the study of the interaction between polyphenolic molecules and peptides/proteins is still an area where ESI-MS has not benefited. With regard to the important influence of these interactions in the biological and food domains, ESI-MS was applied to the detection and the characterization of soluble polyphenol-peptide complexes formed in model solution. The ability to observe and monitor the weak interactions involved in such macromolecular complexation phenomena was demonstrated for monomeric and dimeric flavonoid molecules (catechin-derived compounds) largely encountered in plants and plant derived products. Intact non-covalent polyphenol-peptide complexes were observed by ESI-MS using different experimental conditions. Utilizing mild ESI interface conditions allowed the detection of 1 : 1 polyphenol-peptide complexes in all tested solutions and 2 : 1 complexes for the dimers and galloylated polyphenols (flavanols). These results show that there is a preferential interaction between polymerized and/or galloylated polyphenols and peptide compared with that between monomeric polyphenols and peptides. Thus, ESI-MS shows potential for the study of small polyphenolic molecule-peptide interactions and determination of stoichiometry.