Electron Transfer Dissociation Mass Spectrometry of Hemoglobin on Clinical Samples

A mass spectrometry-based assay combining the specificity of selected reaction monitoring and the protein ion activation capabilities of electron transfer dissociation was developed and employed for the rapid identification of hemoglobin variants from whole blood without previous proteolytic cleavage. The analysis was performed in a robust ion trap mass spectrometer operating at nominal mass accuracy and resolution. Subtle differences in globin sequences, resulting with mass shifts of about one Da, can be unambiguously identified. These results suggest that mass spectrometry analysis of entire proteins using electron transfer dissociation can be employed on clinical samples in a workflow compatible with diagnostic applications.     

Characterization of Electron Transfer Dissociation in the Orbitrap Velos HCD Cell

Electron transfer dissociation (ETD) is commonly employed in ion traps utilizing rf fields that facilitate efficient electron transfer reactions. Here, we explore performing ETD in the HCD collision cell on an Orbitrap Velos instrument by applying a static DC gradient axially to the rods. This gradient enables simultaneous three dimensional, charge sign independent, trapping of cations and anions, initiating electron transfer reactions in the center of the HCD cell where oppositely charged ions clouds overlap. Here, we evaluate this mode of operation for a number of tryptic peptide populations and the top-down sequence analysis of ubiquitin. Our preliminary data show that performing ETD in the HCD cell provides similar fragmentation as ion trap-ETD but requires further optimization to match performance of ion trap-ETD.      

Electron Transfer and Collision Induced Dissociation of Non-Derivatized and Derivatized Desmosine and Isodesmosine

Electron transfer dissociation (ETD) has attracted increasing interest due to its complementarity to collision-induced dissociation (CID). ETD allows the direct localization of labile post-translational modifications, which is of main interest in proteomics where differences and similarities between ETD and CID have been widely studied. However, due to the fact that ETD requires precursor ions to carry at least two charges, little is known about differences in ETD and CID of small molecules such as metabolites. In this work, ETD and CID of desmosine (DES) and isodesmosine (IDS), two isomers that due to the presence of a pyridinium group can carry two charges after protonation, are studied and compared. In addition, the influence of DES/IDS derivatization with propionic anhydride and polyethyleneglycol (PEG) reagents on ETD and CID was studied, since this is a common strategy to increase sensitivity and to facilitate the analysis by reversed-phase chromatography. Clear differences between ETD and CID of non-derivatized and derivatized-DES/IDS were observed. While CID is mainly attributable to charge-directed fragmentation, ETD is initiated by the generation of a hydrogen atom at the initial protonation site and its subsequent transfer to the pyridinium ring of DES/IDS. These differences are reflected in the generation of complex CID spectra dominated by the loss of small, noninformative molecules (NH₃, CO, H₂O), while ETD spectra are simpler and dominated by characteristic side-chain losses. This constitutes a potential advantage of ETD in comparison to CID when employed for the targeted analysis of DES/IDS in biological samples.

Effects of Peptide Backbone Amide-to-Ester Bond Substitution on the Cleavage Frequency in Electron Capture Dissociation and Collision-Activated Dissociation

Probing the mechanism of electron capture dissociation on variously modified model peptide polycations has resulted in discovering many ways to prevent or reduce $ {\text{N}} - {{\text{C}}_α } $ {\text{N}} - {{\text{C}}_α } bond fragmentation. Here we report on a rare finding of how to increase the backbone bond dissociation rate. In a number of model peptides, amide-to-ester backbone bond substitution increased the frequency of $ {\text{O}} - {{\text{C}}_α } $ {\text{O}} - {{\text{C}}_α } bond cleavage (an analogue of $ {\text{N}} - {{\text{C}}_α } $ {\text{N}} - {{\text{C}}_α } bonds in normal peptides) by several times, at the expense of reduced frequency of cleavages of the neighboring $ {\text{N}} - {{\text{C}}_α } $ {\text{N}} - {{\text{C}}_α } bonds. In contrast, the ester linkage was only marginally broken in collisional dissociation. These results further highlight the complementarity of the reaction mechanisms in electron capture dissociation (ECD) and collision-activated dissociation (CAD). It is proposed that the effects of amide-to-ester bond substitution on fragmentation are mainly due to the differences in product ion stability (ECD, CAD) as well as proton affinity (CAD). This proposal is substantiated by calculations using density functional theory. The implications of these results in relation to the current understanding of the mechanisms of electron capture dissociation and electron transfer dissociation are discussed.     

Systematic Comparison of Ultraviolet Photodissociation and Electron Transfer Dissociation for Peptide Anion Characterization

Ultraviolet photodissociation at 193?nm (UVPD) and negative electron transfer dissociation (NETD) were compared to establish their utility for characterizing acidic proteomes with respect to sequence coverage distributions (a measure of product ion signals across the peptide backbone), sequence coverage percentages, backbone cleavage preferences, and fragmentation differences relative to precursor charge state. UVPD yielded significantly more diagnostic information compared with NETD for lower charge states (n????2), but both methods were comparable for higher charged species. While UVPD often generated a more heterogeneous array of sequence-specific products (b-, y-, c-, z-, Y-, d-, and w-type ions in addition to a- and x- type ions), NETD usually created simpler sets of a/x-type ions. LC-MS/UVPD and LC-MS/NETD analysis of protein digests utilizing high pH mobile phases coupled with automated database searching via modified versions of the MassMatrix algorithm was undertaken. UVPD generally outperformed NETD in stand-alone searches due to its ability to efficiently sequence both lower and higher charge states with rapid activation times. However, when combined with traditional positive mode CID, both methods yielded complementary information with significantly increased sequence coverage percentages and unique peptide identifications over that of just CID alone.     

卟啉-酞菁分子内能量传递和电子转移的溶剂效应

用稳态荧光光谱研究了以氧原子和哌嗪作为连接基的卟啉酞菁二元分子在不同溶剂中的分子内能量传递和电子转移过程结果表明;分子内的能量传递和电子转移是两个相互竞争的过程，在非极性溶剂中，激发单重态的能量传递是主要过程，而在极性溶剂中则以电子转移为主运用Rehm-Weller公式计算了两种二元化合物在不同溶剂中的电子转移反应的自由能变化△G0ET，表明溶剂的极性对电子转移反应的自由能变化△G0ET影响很大极性越大;体系中的电子转移反应的△G0ET、越负，电子转移反应越易进行由于电子转移过程较能量传递过程进行得快，所以表现为体系中能量传递效率降低而电子转移效率增大。两种二元化合物的能量传递效率（φEnT）利和电子转移效率（φET）随溶剂的极性的变化具有相同的变化趋势     

Infrared Multiple Photon Dissociation Action Spectroscopy and Theoretical Studies of Triethyl Phosphate Complexes: Effects of Protonation and Sodium Cationization on Structure

The gas-phase structures of protonated and sodium cationized complexes of triethyl phosphate, [TEP + H]⁺ and [TEP + Na]⁺, are examined via infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) action spectroscopy using tunable IR radiation generated by a free electron laser, a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer with an electrospray ionization source, and theoretical electronic structure calculations. Measured IRMPD action spectra are compared to linear IR spectra calculated at the B3LYP/6-31 G(d,p) level of theory to identify the structures accessed in the experimental studies. For comparison, theoretical studies of neutral TEP are also performed. Sodium cationization and protonation produce changes in the central phosphate geometry, including an increase in the alkoxy ∠OPO bond angle and shortening of the alkoxy P–O bond. Changes associated with protonation are more pronounced than those produced by sodium cationization.     

Infrared Multiple Photon Dissociation Action Spectroscopy and Theoretical Studies of Diethyl Phosphate Complexes: Effects of Protonation and Sodium Cationization on Structure

The gas-phase structures of deprotonated, protonated, and sodium-cationized complexes of diethyl phosphate (DEP) including [DEP − H]⁻, [DEP + H]⁺, [DEP + Na]⁺, and [DEP − H + 2Na]⁺ are examined via infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) action spectroscopy using tunable IR radiation generated by a free electron laser, a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source, and theoretical electronic structure calculations. Measured IRMPD spectra are compared to linear IR spectra calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory to identify the structures accessed in the experimental studies. For comparison, theoretical studies of neutral complexes are also performed. These experiments and calculations suggest that specific geometric changes occur upon the binding of protons and/or sodium cations, including changes correlating to nucleic acid backbone geometry, specifically P–O bond lengths and ∠OPO bond angles. Information from these observations may be used to gain insight into the structures of more complex systems, such as nucleotides and solvated nucleic acids.     

Negative Electron Transfer Dissociation Sequencing of Increasingly Sulfated Glycosaminoglycan Oligosaccharides on an Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer

The structural characterization of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) carbohydrates remains an important target for analytical chemists attributable to challenges introduced by the natural complexity of these mixtures and the defined need for molecular-level details to elucidate biological structure–function relationships. Tandem mass spectrometry has proven to be the most powerful technique for this purpose. Previously, electron detachment dissociation (EDD), in comparison to other methods of ion activation, has been shown to provide the largest number of useful cleavages for de novo sequencing of GAG oligosaccharides, but such experiments are restricted to Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometers (FTICR-MS). Negative electron transfer dissociation (NETD) provides similar fragmentation results, and can be achieved on any mass spectrometry platform that is designed to accommodate ion–ion reactions. Here, we examine for the first time the effectiveness of NETD-Orbitrap mass spectrometry for the structural analysis of GAG oligosaccharides. Compounds ranging in size from tetrasaccharides to decasaccharides were dissociated by NETD, producing both glycosidic and cross-ring cleavages that enabled the location of sulfate modifications. The highly-sulfated, heparin-like synthetic GAG, Arixtra^TM, was also successfully sequenced by NETD. In comparison to other efforts to sequence GAG chains without fully ionized sulfate constituents, the occurrence of sulfate loss peaks is minimized by judicious precursor ion selection. The results compare quite favorably to prior results with electron detachment dissociation (EDD). Significantly, the duty cycle of the NETD experiment is sufficiently short to make it an effective tool for on-line separations, presenting a straightforward path for selective, high-throughput analysis of GAG mixtures.

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钠离子诱导的头孢菌素类抗生素质谱裂解机理的研究

采用电喷雾多级串联质谱技术,研究了头孢噻吩钠、头孢西丁钠、头孢他美酯、头孢克肟4种头孢菌素类抗生素在金属钠离子诱导下的裂解规律,并与质子诱导下的裂解规律进行比较。结果发现,头孢菌素类化合物在钠离子诱导方式下的多数质谱行为与质子诱导下的一致:多数质谱断裂发生在7-氨基头孢烷酸母核的侧链取代基R1、R2、R3上;C(3)位侧链上的C—X(X=O、N、S)键容易断裂;C(2)位羧基上的CO2和C(8)位的CO容易丢失。此外,还发现金属钠离子可比质子诱导更多更复杂的断裂反应。质子化离子的β-内酰胺环开环方式单一,为N(1)—C(8)和C(6)—C(7)键断裂;而金属钠离子能够诱导新的β-内酰胺环断裂,如C(7)—C(8)、N(1)—C(6)和C(4)—S(5)三键断裂和N(1)—C(8)、N(1)—C(6)和C(4)—C(5)三键断裂。另外,在碱金属钠离子诱导下,结构重排更为频繁。     

生物体系中电子转移机理的研究Ⅱ: 分子间电子转移及 电子供、受体间不同基 团的影响

利用自编程序MOPAC-ET中AM1方法,及KT(Koopman'sTheorem)法,研究了二苯负离子体系的分子间电子转移现象,计算了其电子供、受体在不同距离下的V~A~B及它们之间的相关性,另外,还对两苯环间不同介入基团对电子转移的影响做了初步研究,发现不同的介入基团存在着较大的差异。     

黄金规则用于N-3＋N3体系电子转移的研究

基于B3P86/6 311＋G优化的N3与N－3分子几何,确定了N3＋N－3基态电子转移体系 的六种不同的耦合机理,及各种形式耦合络合物的几何性质、活化能、稳定化能、耦合矩阵 元和态密度,并利用黄金规则计算了电子转移速率,讨论了各耦合方式对电子转移速率的影响 .     

Electron Transfer Dissociation Reveals Changes in the Cleavage Frequencies of Backbone Bonds Distant to Amide-to-Ester Substitutions in Polypeptides

Interrogation of electron transfer dissociation (ETD) mass spectra of peptide amide-to-ester backbone bond substituted analogues (depsipeptides) reveals substantial differences in the entire backbone cleavage frequencies. It is suggested that the point permutation of backbone bonds leads to changes in the predominant ion structures by removal/weakening of specific hydrogen bonding. ETD responds to these changes by redistributing the cleavage frequencies of the peptide backbone bonds. In comparison, no distinction between depsi-/peptide was observed using collision-activated dissociation, which is consistent with a general unfolding and elimination of structural information of these ions. These results should encourage further exploration of depsipeptides for gas-phase structural characterization.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Luminescent Sensing of Organophosphorus Chemical Warfare Agents and Simulants Using Trivalent Lanthanide Complexes

Organophosphorus chemical warfare agents (OP CWAs) are potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors that can cause incapacitation and death within minutes of exposure, and furthermore are largely undetectable by the human senses. Fast, efficient, sensitive and selective detection of these compounds is therefore critical to minimise exposure. Traditional molecular‐based sensing approaches have exploited the chemical reactivity of the OP CWAs, whereas more recently supramolecular‐based approaches using non‐covalent interactions have gained momentum. This is due, in part, to the potential development of sensors with second‐generation properties, such as reversibility and multifunction capabilities. Supramolecular sensors also offer opportunities for incorporation of metal ions allowing for the exploitation of their unique properties. In particular, trivalent lanthanide ions are being increasingly used in the OP CWA sensing event and their use in supramolecular sensors is discussed in this Minireview. We focus on the fundamental interactions of simple lanthanide systems with OP CWAs and simulants, along with the development of more elaborate and complex systems including those containing nanotubes, polymers and gold nanoparticles. Whilst literature investigations into lanthanide‐based OP CWA detection systems are relatively scarce, their unique and versatile properties provide a promising platform for the development of more efficient and complex sensing systems into the future.     

Kinetics and Mechanism of Electron Transfer Reactions: Oxidation of Crotyl Alcohol by Peroxomonosulfate in Aqueous Acidic Medium

The kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of crotyl alcohol by peroxomonosulfate has been studied, and the species of the peroxomonosulfate are discussed to find out the role of activated species. A plausible reaction mechanism is suggested, and a derived rate law corresponds to all experimental observations. The activation parameters such as energy and entropy of activation have been calculated as 37.21 ± 0.5 kJ mol⁻¹ and −148.91 ± 2.7 J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹, respectively, by employing the Eyring plot.     

Exploring Salt Bridge Structures of Gas-Phase Protein Ions using Multiple Stages of Electron Transfer and Collision Induced Dissociation

The gas-phase structures of protein ions have been studied by electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and collision-induced dissociation (CID) after electrospraying these proteins from native-like solutions into a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. Because ETD can break covalent bonds while minimally disrupting noncovalent interactions, we have investigated the ability of this dissociation technique together with CID to probe the sites of electrostatic interactions in gas-phase protein ions. By comparing spectra from ETD with spectra from ETD followed by CID, we find that several proteins, including ubiquitin, CRABP I, azurin, and β-2-microglobulin, appear to maintain many of the salt bridge contacts known to exist in solution. To support this conclusion, we also performed calculations to consider all possible salt bridge patterns for each protein, and we find that the native salt bridge pattern explains the experimental ETD data better than nearly all other possible salt bridge patterns. Overall, our data suggest that ETD and ETD/CID of native protein ions can provide some insight into approximate location of salt bridges in the gas phase.

Relative Quantification of Sites of Peptide and Protein Modification Using Size Exclusion Chromatography Coupled with Electron Transfer Dissociation

One difficult problem in the analysis of peptide modifications is quantifying isomeric modifications that differ by the position of the amino acid modified. HPLC separation using C18 reverse phase chromatography coupled with electron transfer dissociation (ETD) in tandem mass spectrometry has recently been shown to be able to relatively quantify how much of a given modification occurs at each amino acid position for isomeric mixtures; however, the resolution of reverse phase chromatography greatly complicates quantification of isomeric modifications by ETD because of the chromatographic separation of peptides with identical modifications at different sequence positions. Using peptide oxidation as a model system, we investigated the use of size exclusion chromatography coupled with ETD fragmentation to separate peptide sequences. This approach allows for the benefits of chromatographic separation of peptide sequences while ensuring co-elution of modification isomers for accurate relative quantification of modifications using standard data-dependent acquisitions. Using this method, the relative amount of modification at each amino acid can be accurately measured from single ETD MS/MS spectra in a standard data-dependent acquisition experiment.

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The Impact of Phosphorylation on Electron Capture Dissociation of Proteins: A Top-Down Perspective

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) is well suited for the characterization of phosphoproteins, with which labile phosphate groups are generally preserved during the fragmentation process. However, the impact of phosphorylation on ECD fragmentation of intact proteins remains unclear. Here, we have performed a systematic investigation of the phosphorylation effect on ECD of intact proteins by comparing the ECD cleavages of mono-phosphorylated α-casein, multi-phosphorylated β-casein, and immunoaffinity-purified phosphorylated cardiac troponin I with those of their unphosphorylated counterparts, respectively. In contrast to phosphopeptides, phosphorylation has significantly reduced deleterious effects on the fragmentation of intact proteins during ECD. On a global scale, the fragmentation patterns are highly comparable between unphosphorylated and phosphorylated precursors under the same ECD conditions, despite a slight decrease in the number of fragment ions observed for the phosphorylated forms. On a local scale, single phosphorylation of intact proteins imposes minimal effects on fragmentation near the phosphorylation sites, but multiple phosphorylations in close proximity result in a significant reduction of ECD bond cleavages.

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Mechanistic Study on Electron Capture Dissociation of the Oligosaccharide-Mg2+ Complex

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) has shown great potential in structural characterization of glycans. However, our current understanding of the glycan ECD process is inadequate for accurate interpretation of the complex glycan ECD spectra. Here, we present the first comprehensive theoretical investigation on the ECD fragmentation behavior of metal-adducted glycans, using the cellobiose-Mg₂₊ complex as the model system. Molecular dynamics simulation was carried out to determine the typical glycan-Mg₂₊ binding patterns and the lowest-energy conformer identified was used as the initial geometry for density functional theory-based theoretical modeling. It was found that the electron is preferentially captured by Mg₂₊ and the resultant Mg_+? can abstract a hydroxyl group from the glycan moiety to form a carbon radical. Subsequent radical migration and α-cleavage(s) result in the formation of a variety of product ions. The proposed hydroxyl abstraction mechanism correlates well with the major features in the ECD spectrum of the Mg₂₊-adducted cellohexaose. The mechanism presented here also predicts the presence of secondary, radical-induced fragmentation pathways. These secondary fragment ions could be misinterpreted, leading to erroneous structural determination. The present study highlights an urgent need for continuing investigation of the glycan ECD mechanism, which is imperative for successful development of bioinformatics tools that can take advantage of the rich structural information provided by ECD of metal-adducted glycans.