A collision induced dissociation (CID) structure for lossless ion manipulations (SLIM) module is introduced and coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer. The SLIM CID module was mounted after an ion mobility (IM) drift tube to enable IM/CID/MS studies. The efficiency of CID was studied by using the model peptide leucine enkephalin. CID efficiencies (62%) compared favorably with other beam-type CID methods. Additionally, the SLIM CID module was used to fragment a mixture of nine peptides after IM separation. This work also represents the first application of SLIM in the 0.3 to 0.5 Torr pressure regime, an order of magnitude lower in pressure than previously studied.
Differential or field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) operating at high electric fields fully resolves isotopic isomers for a peptide with labeled residues. The naturally present isotopes, alone and together with targeted labels, also cause spectral shifts that approximately add for multiple heavy atoms. Separation qualitatively depends on the gas composition. These findings may enable novel strategies in proteomic and metabolomic analyses using stable isotope labeling.
A novel concept for ion spatial peak compression is described, and discussed primarily in the context of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). Using theoretical and numerical methods, the effects of using non-constant (e.g., linearly varying) electric fields on ion distributions (e.g., an ion mobility peak) is evaluated both in the physical and temporal domains. The application of a linearly decreasing electric field in conjunction with conventional drift field arrangements is shown to lead to a reduction in IMS physical peak width. When multiple ion packets (i.e., peaks) in a selected mobility window are simultaneously subjected to such fields, there is ion packet compression (i.e., a reduction in peak widths for all species). This peak compression occurs with only a modest reduction of resolution, which can be quickly recovered as ions drift in a constant field after the compression event. Compression also yields a significant increase in peak intensities. Ion mobility peak compression can be particularly useful for mitigating diffusion-driven peak broadening over very long path length separations (e.g., in cyclic multi-pass arrangements), and for achieving higher S/N and IMS resolution over a selected mobility range.
Ion mobility is a powerful tool for separating and characterizing the structures of ions. Here, a radio-frequency (rf) confining drift cell is used to evaluate the drift times of ions over a broad range of drift field strengths (E/P, V cm–1 Torr–1). The presence of rf potentials radially confines ions and results in excellent ion transmission at low E/P (less than 1 V cm–1 Torr–1), thereby reducing the dependence of ion transmission on the applied drift voltage. Non-linear responses between drift time and reciprocal drift voltages are observed for extremely low E/P and high rf amplitudes. Under these conditions, pseudopotential wells generated by the rf potentials dampen the mobility of ions. The effective potential approximation is used to characterize this mobility dampening behavior, which can be mitigated by adjusting rf amplitudes and electrode dimensions. Using SIMION trajectories and statistical arguments, the effective temperatures of ions in an rf-confining drift cell are evaluated. Results for the doubly charged peptide GRGDS suggest that applied rf potentials can result in a subtle increase (2 K) in effective temperature compared to an electrostatic drift tube. Additionally, simulations of native-like ions of the protein complex avidin suggest that rf potentials have a negligible effect on the effective temperature of these ions. In general, the results of this study suggest that applied rf potentials enable the measurement of drift times at extremely low E/P and that these potentials have negligible effects on ion effective temperature.
Differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) is an ion mobility technique that has been adopted chiefly as a pre-filter for small- to medium-sized analytes (<1 000 Da). With the exception of a handful of studies that employ an analogue of DMS—field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectroscopy (FAIMS)—the application of DMS to intact biomacromolecules remains largely unexplored. In this work, we employ DMS combined with gas-phase hydrogen deuterium exchange (DMS-HDX) to probe the gas-phase conformations generated from proteins that were initially folded, partially-folded, and unfolded in solution. Our findings indicate that proteins with distinct structural features in solution exhibit unique deuterium uptake profiles as function of their optimal transmission through the DMS. Ultimately we propose that DMS-HDX can, if properly implemented, provide rapid measurements of liquid-phase protein structural stability that could be of use in biopharmaceuticals development.
A cationic degradation product, formed in solution from retinal Schiff base (RSB), is examined in the gas phase using ion mobility spectrometry, photoisomerization action spectroscopy, and collision induced dissociation (CID). The degradation product is found to be N-n-butyl-2-(β-ionylidene)-4-methylpyridinium (BIP) produced through 6π electrocyclization of RSB followed by protonation and loss of dihydrogen. Ion mobility measurements show that BIP exists as trans and cis isomers that can be interconverted through buffer gas collisions and by exposure to light, with a maximum response at λ = 420 nm.
Precise localization of post-translational modifications (PTMs) on proteins and peptides is an outstanding challenge in proteomics. While electron transfer dissociation (ETD) has dramatically advanced PTM analyses, mixtures of localization variants that commonly coexist in cells often require prior separation. Although differential or field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) achieves broad variant resolution, the need for standards to identify the features has limited the utility of approach. Here we demonstrate full a priori characterization of variant mixtures by high-resolution FAIMS coupled to ETD and the procedures to systematically extract the FAIMS spectra for all variants from such data.
A new geometry for the flight region in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer is presented. It consists of two opposing electrostatic sectors of about 255° each and straight sections with a length appropriate to the turns. The resulting geometry folds into a compact space. The first-order aberrations for position, angle, and energy are all zero. The transverse focusing properties are also excellent. For an energetic, high-divergence ion source such as laser ablation, the sTOF has higher resolution and ion transmission than a reflectron of similar physical size.
Quadrupole mass filters using non-sinusoidal driving potentials present exciting opportunities for new functionality. Predicting figures of merit like resolving power and transmission efficiency helps characterize these emerging devices. To this end, matrix methods of solving the Hill equation of ion motion are employed to calculate stability diagrams and pseudopotential well depth maps in the a,q plane for arbitrary waveforms. The theoretical resolving power and well depth of digital, trapezoidal and sinusoidal mass filters are compared. Simplified expressions for digital mass filter operation are presented.
The rising profile of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) in proteomics has driven the efforts to predict peptide cross-sections. In the simplest approach, these are derived by adding the contributions of all amino acid residues and post-translational modifications (PTMs) defined by their intrinsic size parameters (ISPs). We show that the ISPs for PTMs can be calculated from properties of constituent atoms, and introduce the “impact scores” that govern the shift of cross-sections from the central mass-dependent trend for unmodified peptides. The ISPs and scores tabulated for 100 more common PTMs enable predicting the domains for modified peptides in the IMS/MS space that would guide subproteome investigations.
In negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of 4-nitrobenzyl 4-hydroxybenzoates, a decarboxylation reaction, which was significantly promoted by the presence of a nitro group on the benzyl group, competed with radical elimination reactions. Density functional theory calculations indicated that decarboxylation of deprotonated 4-nitrobenzyl vanillate occurred via a radical route involving homolytic cleavage of the Cbenzyl–O bond to give a triplet ion–neutral complex, followed by decarboxylative coupling.
Matrix recrystallization is optimized and applied to improve lipid ion signals in maize embryos and leaves. A systematic study was performed varying solvent and incubation time. During this study, unexpected side reactions were found when methanol was used as a recrystallization solvent, resulting in the formation of a methyl ester of phosphatidic acid. Using an optimum recrystallization condition with isopropanol, there is no apparent delocalization demonstrated with a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) pattern and maize leaf images obtained at 10 μm spatial resolution.
The detailed chemical information contained in the vibrational spectrum of a cryogenically cooled analyte ion would, in principle, make infrared (IR) ion spectroscopy a gold standard technique for molecular identification in mass spectrometry. Despite this immense potential, there are considerable challenges in both instrumentation and methodology to overcome before the technique is analytically useful. Here, we discuss the promise of IR ion spectroscopy for small molecule analysis in the context of metabolite identification. Experimental strategies to address sensitivity constraints, poor overall duty cycle, and speed of the experiment are intimately tied to the development of a mass-selective cryogenic trap. Therefore, the most likely avenues for success, in the authors’ opinion, are presented here, alongside alternative approaches and some thoughts on data interpretation.
The utility of sodium ion adducts produced by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization for the quantification of analytes with multiple oxygen atoms was evaluated. Uses of homogeneous solid samples and temperature control allowed the acquisition of reproducible spectra. The method resulted in a direct proportionality between the ion abundance ratio I([A?+?Na]+)/I([M?+?Na]+) and the analyte concentration, which could be used as a calibration curve. This was demonstrated for carbohydrates, glycans, and polyether diols with dynamic range exceeding three orders of magnitude.
Analytical techniques capable of detecting changes in structure are necessary to monitor the quality of monoclonal antibody drug products. Ion mobility mass spectrometry offers an advanced mode of characterization of protein higher order structure. In this work, we evaluated the reproducibility of ion mobility mass spectrometry measurements and mobiligrams, as well as the suitability of this approach to differentiate between and/or characterize different monoclonal antibody drug products. Four mobiligram-derived metrics were identified to be reproducible across a multi-day window of analysis. These metrics were further applied to comparative studies of monoclonal antibody drug products representing different IgG subclasses, manufacturers, and lots. These comparisons resulted in some differences, based on the four metrics derived from ion mobility mass spectrometry mobiligrams. The use of collision-induced unfolding resulted in more observed differences. Use of summed charge state datasets and the analysis of metrics beyond drift time allowed for a more comprehensive comparative study between different monoclonal antibody drug products. Ion mobility mass spectrometry enabled detection of differences between monoclonal antibodies with the same target protein but different production techniques, as well as products with different targets. These differences were not always detectable by traditional collision cross section studies. Ion mobility mass spectrometry, and the added separation capability of collision-induced unfolding, was highly reproducible and remains a promising technique for advanced analytical characterization of protein therapeutics.
Dissociation of proteins and peptides by 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) has gained momentum in proteomic studies because of the diversity of backbone fragments that are produced and subsequent unrivaled sequence coverage obtained by the approach. The pathways that form the basis for the production of particular ion types are not completely understood. In this study, a statistical approach is used to probe hydrogen atom elimination from a + 1 radical ions, and different extents of elimination are found to vary as a function of the identity of the C-terminal residue of the a product ions and the presence or absence of hydrogen bonds to the cleaved residue.
We have developed a multimodal ion source design that can be configured on the fly for various analysis modes, designed for more efficient and reproducible sampling at the mass spectrometer atmospheric pressure (AP) interface in a number of different applications. This vacuum-assisted plasma ionization (VaPI) source features interchangeable transmission mode and laser ablation sampling geometries. Operating in both AC and DC power regimes with similar results, the ion source was optimized for parameters including helium flow rate and gas temperature using transmission mode to analyze volatile standards and drug tablets. Using laser ablation, matrix effects were studied, and the source was used to monitor the products of model prebiotic synthetic reactions.
A method for relating traveling-wave ion mobility spectrometry (TWIMS) drift times with collisional cross-sections using computational simulations is presented. This method is developed using SIMION modeling of the TWIMS potential wave and equations that describe the velocity of ions in gases induced by electric fields. The accuracy of this method is assessed by comparing the collisional cross-sections of 70 different reference ions obtained using this method with those obtained from static drift tube ion mobility measurements. The cross-sections obtained here with low wave velocities are very similar to those obtained using static drift (average difference?=?0.3%) for ions formed from both denaturing and buffered aqueous solutions. In contrast, the cross-sections obtained with high wave velocities are significantly greater, especially for ions formed from buffered aqueous solutions. These higher cross-sections at high wave velocities may result from high-order factors not accounted for in the model presented here or from the protein ions unfolding during TWIMS. Results from this study demonstrate that collisional cross-sections can be obtained from single TWIMS drift time measurements, but that low wave velocities and gentle instrument conditions should be used in order to minimize any uncertainties resulting from high-order effects not accounted for in the present model and from any protein unfolding that might occur. Thus, the method presented here eliminates the need to calibrate TWIMS drift times with collisional cross-sections measured using other ion mobility devices.
Membrane protein complexes are commonly introduced to the mass spectrometer solubilized in detergent micelles. The collisional activation used to remove the detergent, however, often causes protein unfolding and dissociation. As in the case for soluble proteins, electrospray in the positive ion mode is most commonly used for the study of membrane proteins. Here we show several distinct advantages of employing the negative ion mode. Negative polarity can yield lower average charge states for membrane proteins solubilized in saccharide detergents, with enhanced peak resolution and reduced adduct formation. Most importantly, we demonstrate that negative ion mode electrospray ionization (ESI) minimizes subunit dissociation in the gas phase, allowing access to biologically relevant oligomeric states. Together, these properties mean that intact membrane protein ions can be generated in a greater range of solubilizing detergents. The formation of negative ions, therefore, greatly expands the possibilities of using mass spectrometry on this intractable class of protein.
We report relative dephasing cross sections for the 20 biogenic protonated amino acids measured using the cross sectional areas by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (CRAFTI) technique at 1.9 keV in the laboratory reference frame, as well as momentum transfer cross sections for the same ions computed from Boltzmann-weighted structures determined using molecular mechanics. Cross sections generally increase with increasing molecular weight. Cross sections for aliphatic and aromatic protonated amino acids are larger than the average trend, suggesting these side chains do not fold efficiently. Sulfur-containing protonated amino acids have smaller than average cross sections, reflecting the mass of the S atom. Protonated amino acids that can internally hydrogen-bond have smaller than average cross sections, reflecting more extensive folding. The CRAFTI measurements correlate well with results from drift ion mobility (IMS) and traveling wave ion mobility (TWIMS) spectrometric measurements; CRAFTI results correlate with IMS values approximately as well as IMS and TWIMS values from independent measurements correlate with each other. Both CRAFTI and IMS results correlate well with the computed momentum transfer cross sections, suggesting both techniques provide accurate molecular structural information. Absolute values obtained using the various methods differ significantly; in the case of CRAFTI, this may be due to errors in measurements of collision gas pressure, measurement of excitation voltage, and/or dependence of cross sections on kinetic energy.
