Internal energy distribution in electrospray ionization

Internal energies and energy distributions were studied using the 'survival yield' method developed previously. In addition to conventional benzylpyridinium salts, protonated esters (fragmenting by rearrangement) and protonated leucine enkephalin were also used, extending the validity of the technique. Fragmentation processes were studied in the cone voltage region and modeled by the RRKM-based MassKinetics program. The results show that the shapes of the energy distributions are similar to thermal distributions. The mean internal energies are very similar for all compound classes studied, and show a linear increase with collision energy in the 10-50 eV region.     

Gas phase reaction between chromones and solvent in an electrospray ionization source

Chromones were measured by using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in negative mode. Interestingly, in addition to the deprotonated ion ([M ? H]^?), unexpected [M + 17]^? and [M + 31]^? ions were observed in high intensity when water and methanol were used as the solvent. Chromones with different substitutes were tested. Compared with the deprotonated ion, [M + 17]^? and [M + 31]^? ions were observed with higher abundances when the C‐3 site of chromones was substituted by electron withdrawing groups. Based on high performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS), deuterium‐labeling and collisional‐induced dissociation experiments, a covalent gas‐phase nucleophilic addition reaction between chromone and water, and the formation of a noncovalent complex between chromone and methanol were proposed as the mechanism for the observed [M + 17]^? and [M + 31]^? ions, respectively. Understanding and using these unique gas phase reactions can avoid misannotation when analyzing chromones and their metabolites.     

Reduction of copper(II) complexes by electron capture in an electrospray ionization source

The relative proportion of 1:1 Cu(I)– and Cu(II)–peptide complexes PeptCu(I)⁺ and [Pept?H+Cu(II)]⁺ yielded by electrospray ionization of copper sulfate and GlyHisLys solutions in water/methanol was examined under different source conditions. Two factors leading to an increase in Cu(I) complex ratio were found. (1) Increase of nozzle–skimmer voltages caused collision-induced dissociation of Cu(II) complexes, and most probably favor ligand-to-metal electron transfers that result in the decoordination of oxydated ligands to form PeptCu⁺. (2) Independent of these “innersphere” processes that involve only electron exchange inside the coordination sphere around the metal cation, an increase in source voltages with a concomitant increase of current and, supposedly, electron counterflow between the counterelectrode and the capillary caused an increase in PeptCu⁺ relative proportion. The hypothesis that an “outersphere” electron capture might happen in these conditions was verified by using discharge supressing SF₆ gas as nebulizing gas. The electronegative gas reduced the current brought on by high voltages and inhibited the PeptCu⁺ increase phenomenon.     

Thermal energy distribution observed in electrospray ionization

A new method was developed which fits a thermal internal energy distribution to ions formed by electrospray ionization. The molecular ion survival yield was measured and determined by RRKM calculations as a function of temperature. The ('characteristic') temperature was determined when the calculated and measured molecular ion survival yields were equal. The 'characteristic' temperatures were very similar (average RSD errors were 8%) for a set of analogous compounds (benzylpyridine salts), and the resulting thermal internal energy distributions were close to those determined by De Pauw's method. The validity of the method was also checked performing blackbody infrared radiation and on-resonance excitation experiments on a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance instrument with benzylpyridine salts and leucine enkephalin. The results strongly suggest that internal energy distributions in electrospray ionization are very close to thermal distributions. It was found that the characteristic temperature increases linearly with the cone voltage. It is suggested that the characteristic temperature can be used as a quantitative measure to control and standardize conditions in electrospray ionization. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors that affect molecular weight distribution of Suwannee river fulvic acid as determined by electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry

Effects of methylation, molar response, multiple charging, solvents, and positive and negative ionization on molecular weight distributions of aquatic fulvic acid were investigated by electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry. After preliminary analysis by positive and negative modes, samples and mixtures of standards were derivatized by methylation to minimize ionization sites and reanalyzed.Positive ionization was less effective and produced more complex spectra than negative ionization. Ionization in methanol/water produced greater response than in acetonitrile/water. Molar response varied widely for the selected free acid standards when analyzed individually and in a mixture, but after methylation this range decreased. After methylation, the number average molecular weight of the Suwannee River fulvic acid remained the same while the weight average molecular weight decreased. These differences are probably indicative of disaggregation of large aggregated ions during methylation. Since the weight average molecular weight decreased, it is likely that aggregate formation in the fulvic acid was present prior to derivatization, rather than multiple charging in the mass spectra.     

电喷雾离子源中样品离子化能量转移理论的初探

电喷雾离子源（electrospray ionization,ESI）不仅可以用于小分子的检测,也能够用于蛋白质、多肽等大分子的研究。本文通过对离子化过程的系统分析,提出了基于能量最低原理的离子化过程能量转移理论。样品分子在由液相转移到气相形成离子化气体的过程中受到静电力、分子间的范德华力等多种力的作用。样品的离子化是多种力共同作用的结果,在不同的离子化阶段,不同形式的力的作用也不尽相同。电荷在样品表面蒸发和多电荷离子的形成之间存在竞争。对不同结构的分子,分子形态、构象改变导致的两相间转移Gibbs自由能变化不同,可能导致离子蒸发、大分子形成多电荷离子、产生链弹射等行为。离子化能量转移理论不仅能够对已有的3种理论加以简化统一,也可以说明溶剂、电解质离子等在离子化过程中的作用,为优化不同结构与形态样品的质谱检测、了解离子化的真实过程提供了一种可能的依据。     

Construction and characterization of a small-bore electrospray ionization source

A simple, economical, and efficient electrospray ionization (ESI) source has been constructed in the configuration of a probe that makes use of a standard 13 mm vacuum lock. The principal components have been placed inside a glass tube making use of the electrical insulating properties of the glass while allowing for visual adjustments to be readily made. The ESI source, a variation of an atmospheric pressure ionization interface, is a modified version of designs published by Chait et al. (Rapid Comm. Mass Spectrom. 1990, 4, 81–87) and Knapp et al. (Anal. Chem. 1991, 63, 1658–1660) wherein a heated metal capillary is used for desolvation. The ESI probe has been tested on three different Extrel quadrupole mass spectrometers, with removable ion volumes, using polypeptides and small proteins. No modifications to the standard electron ionization/chemical ionization lens assembly were required to obtain excellent results other than removal of the ion volume. The spectra acquired were in excellent agreement with those previously published.     

Ligand size distribution of phenanthroline-functionalized polyethylene glycol-iron(II) complexes determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and computer simulation

The complex formation in solution, and the gas-phase dissociation of a phenanthrolineterminated poly(ethylene glycol) with Fe²⁺ ions were investigated. The size distribution of poly(ethylene glycol)-α-monomethyl-ω-5-[1,10]phenanthroline (mPEG_phen) was determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Based on the measured ligand size distribution of mPEG_phen by ESI-MS, the 1:3 complex formation (Fe²⁺/mPEG_Phen) was computer-simulated as a pure random assembly process. The simulated distribution fits excellently to that of the complex Fe(mPEG_phen)₃²⁺ determined from the ESI-MS intensities. In addition, the collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the Fe(mPEG_phen)₃²⁺ complex was also studied by tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) and by computer simulation, as well. The ESI-MS/MS intensity distribution of the Fe(mPEG_phen)₂²⁺ formed from Fe(mPEG_phen)₃²⁺ by the loss of an mPEG_phen ligand under CID conditions fits quite well to the calculated one.     

A gated-beam electrospray ionization source with an external ion reservoir. A new tool for the characterization of biomolecules using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

In this work we describe a micro-electrospray ionization source equipped with an atmospheric pressure external ion shutter. The solenoid-activated shutter prevents the electrospray plume from entering the inlet capillary unless triggered to the 'open' position. When in the 'closed' position, a stable electrospray plume is maintained between the electrospray ionization (ESI) emitter and the electrically isolated face of the shutter. When the shutter is triggered, a 'slice' of ions is allowed to enter the inlet capillary and is subsequently accumulated in an external ion reservoir comprised of a radio frequency only (rf-only) hexapole and a pair of electrostatic elements. Following ion accumulation in the external ion reservoir, intact molecular ions of proteins, oligonucleotides, and noncovalent complexes can be stored for extended intervals (>30 minutes) prior to being transferred to the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) trapped ion cell for mass analysis. By introducing reactive gases directly into the external ion reservoir during the storage interval, ion-molecule reactions, such as H/D exchange, can be performed at high effective pressures. This scheme obviates the need for the long reaction times and delays associated with restoring base pressure in the trapped ion cell and allows H/D exchange reactions to be conducted in a fraction of the time required using conventional in-cell exchange approaches. The back face of the shutter arm contains an elastomeric material which can be positioned to seal the inlet to the mass spectrometer resulting in lower base pressure in the ion reservoir and the FTICR cell. Additionally, it is noted that blocking the ESI plume during non-accumulation events results in reduced fouling of the source electrodes and longer times between required source cleaning.     

High-frequency AC electrospray ionization source for mass spectrometry of biomolecules

A novel high-frequency alternating current (AC) electrospray ionization (ESI) source has been developed for applications in mass spectrometry. The AC ESI source operates in a conical meniscus mode, analogous to the cone-jet mode of direct current (DC) electrosprays but with significant physical and mechanistic differences. In this stable conical-meniscus mode at frequencies greater than 50 kHz, the low mobility ions, which can either be cations or anions, are entrained within the liquid cone and ejected as droplets that eventually form molecular ions, thus making AC ESI a viable tool for both negative and positive mode mass spectrometry. The performance of the AC ESI source is qualitatively shown to be frequency-dependent and, for larger bio-molecules, the AC ESI source produced an ion signal intensity that is an order of magnitude higher than its DC counterpart.     

Sheathless capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry using a pulsed electrospray ionization source

A sheathless interface has been developed for coupling CE with electrospray IT mass spectrometer. This interface utilized a pulsed ESI source. The use of a pulsed electrospray source allows the use of a sprayer with larger orifice, and thus alleviates the problem of column clogging during conductive coating and CE analysis. A pulsed ESI source operated at 20 Hz and 20% duty cycle was found to produce the optimal signals. For better signals, the maximum ion injection time in the IT mass spectrometer has to be set to a value close to the actual spraying time (10 ms). Using a sprayer with 50 microm od, more stable and enhanced signals were obtained in comparison with continuous CE-ESI-MS under the same flow rate (150 nL/min). The utility of this design is demonstrated with the analysis of synthetic drugs by CE-MS.     

Observation of the multiple halogenation of peptides in the electrospray ionization source

The chlorination of peptides and proteins is an important posttranslational modification, which is a physiological signature of an enzyme myeloperoxidase and can serve as a potential biomarker of some diseases (Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, etc.). The quantification of the chlorinated peptides has been very challenging in part due to their low levels and artifacts associated with sample preparation. One of the most convenient and promising methods to detect and investigate the chlorinated peptides in the biological samples is the electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry coupled to the fragmentation techniques (collision‐induced dissociation and electron capture dissociation/electron transfer dissociation). We have shown that if the chlorine anions are present in the solution, then the peptide can undergo the chlorination during the ESI ionization. The effect was found to depend on the values of electric potentials of metal parts of the ESI interface. It was found that the grounding of ESI syringe results in the formation of an additional electric loop leading to the electrolytic production of Cl₂ and as a consequence the hypochlorous acid inside the ESI needle. Hypochlorous acid reacts with amino groups of peptides and proteins producing chloramine or causing the protein cleavage. In the paper, it is shown on the example of the solution of the several peptides in the presence of HCl that by manipulating the ESI syringe potential, it is possible to create complexes with up to five Cl atoms for sample peptides when the ESI is operated in the positive mode. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Half-life of radionuclides determined by the reference source method

Summary An approach for half-life determination using the reference source method associated with gamma-spectrometry with a Ge detector is presented. The method reduces the contribution of the type B component of the total uncertainty. The independence of the method regarding the instrumental interferences or radiochemical impurities was evidenced. However, there are some limitations when the method is applied for a genetically-related impurity with the same or very similar energy to that of the radionuclide to be measured, e.g., if ⁹⁹Mo in a ^99mTc sample is present. The measured half-life values are in good agreement with those of the literature and the associated uncertainties are lower than 0.1%.     

H2 solved by the finite element method

We report on the solution of the Hartree-Fock equations for the ground state of the H₂ molecule using the finite element method. Both the Hartree-Fock and the Poisson equations are solved with this method to an accuracy of 10⁻⁸ using only 26 × 11 grid points in two dimensions. A 41 × 16 grid gives a new Hartree-Fock benchmark to ten-figure accuracy.     

Chiral and isomeric analysis by electrospray ionization and sonic spray ionization using the fixed-ligand kinetic method

The fixed-ligand version of the kinetic method has been used for chiral and for isomeric analysis by studying the dissociation kinetics of transition metal-bound trimeric cluster ions ([(M(II) + L(fixed)-H)(ref*)(An)](+), where M(II) is a transition metal, L fixed is a fixed (non-dissociating) ligand, ref* is a reference ligand and An is the analyte. The trimeric cluster ions are readily generated by electrospray ionization (ESI) or sonic spray ionization (SSI). The size of the fixed ligand, L- Phe-Gly-L-P he-Gly, is chosen based on previous results but with the inclusion of aromatic functionality to increase chiral recognition. Improved chiral/isomeric differentiation results from enhanced chiral/isomeric interactions (metal-ligand and ligand-ligand) due to the fixed ligand. As shown in the cases of chiral dipeptides (D-Ala-D-Ala/L-Ala-L-Ala), sugars (D/L-glucose, D/L-mannose) and isomeric tetrapeptides (L-Ala-Gly-Gly-Gly/Gly-Gly -Gly-L-Ala), improved chiral/isomeric discrimination by factors from three to six were obtained by the fixed ligand procedure. Chiral recognition is independent of the concentrations of the analyte, the reference ligand, the fixed ligand and the transition metal salt, a great advantage for practical applications. In addition to increased chiral distinction, the simplified dissociation kinetics also contribute to improved accuracy in chiral quantification, in comparison with data obtained by investigating the dissociation kinetics of simple trimeric cluster ions [M(II)(ref*)2(An) H](+). Accurate determination of enantiomeric excess (ee) is demonstrated by enantiomeric quantification of D-Ala-D-Ala/L-Ala-L-Ala down to 2% ee. Both ESI and SSI allow chiral quantification with similar accuracies. The performance of chiral analysis experiments is not limited to ion trapping devices such as quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometers by a hybrid quadrupole-time of flight (Q-ToF) mass spectrometer is shown to provide an alternative choice. The fixed-ligand kinetic method is not restricted to any particular kinds of isomers and, hence, represents a general procedure for improving molecular recognition and chiral analysis in the gas phase.     

Novel phosphoryl derivatization method for peptide sequencing by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A one-step phosphoryl derivatization method has been used in a peptide sequencing procedure for electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). The sodiated derivatized peptides exhibit very simple dissociation patterns, in which two kinds of fragment ions, [b(n) + OH + Na]+ and [a(n) + Na]+, are formed. Since the amino acid residues are lost sequentially from the C-terminus, peptide sequences can be identified easily. The fragmentation efficiency of peptides increased as a result of the phosphorylation, and also provided peaks of useful intensity at lower m/z. A peptide with lysine at the C-terminus was derivatized and analyzed by ESI-MS/MS. Similar mass spectra, from which the sequence could be read out, were obtained. This is a novel derivatization method yielding neutral derivatives that should be suitable for peptide sequencing by LC/ESI-MS/MS.     

Gas-phase stability of G-quadruplex DNA determined by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and molecular dynamics simulations

The relative gas-phase stabilities of seven quadruplex DNA structures, [d(TG(4)T)](4), [d(T(2)G(3)T)](4), [d(G(4)T(4)G(4))](2), [d(T(2)AG(3))(2)](2), d(T(2)AG(3))(4), d(T(2)G(4))(4), and d(G(2)T(4))(4), were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). MD simulations revealed that the G-quadruplexes maintained their structures in the gas phase although the G-quartets were distorted to some degree and ammonium ions, retained by [d(TG(4)T)](4) and [d(T(2)G(3)T)](4), played a key role in stabilizing the tetrad structure. Energy-variable collisional activated dissociation was used to assess the relative stabilities of each quadruplex based on E(1/2) values, and the resulting order of relative stabilities was found to be [d(TG(4)T)](4) > d(T(2)AG(3))(4) approximately d(T(2)G(4))(4) > [d(T(2)G(3)T)](4) > [d(T(2)AG(3))(2)](2) approximately d(G(2)T(4))(4) approximately [d(G(4)T(4)G(4))](2.) The stabilities from the E(1/2) values generally paralleled the RMSD and relative free energies of the quadruplexes based on the MD energy analysis. One exception to the general agreement is [d(G(4)T(4)G(4))](2), which had the lowest E(1/2) value, but was determined to be the most stable quadruplex according to the free-energy analysis and ranked fourth based on the RMSD comparison. This discrepancy is attributed to differences in the fragmentation pathway of the quadruplex.     

Manipulation of charge states of biopolymer ions by atmospheric pressure ion/molecule reactions implemented in an extractive electrospray ionization source

A home-made extractive electrospray ionization source is coupled to an linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer to investigate ion/molecule reactions of biopolymers at ambient pressure. Multiply charged biopolymers such as peptides and proteins generated in an electrospray are easily reduced to a low charge state by the atmospheric pressure ion/molecule reactions occurring between the multiply charged ions and a strong basic reagent sprayed in neutral form into the electrospray plume. The charge state of the biopolymer ions can be manipulated by controlling the amount of the basic reagent. The production of biopolymer ions with low charge states results in a substantial improvement of sensitivity and reduced spectral congestion in ESI-MS. This is of importance for biopolymer mixture analysis and could have promising applications in proteomics.     

Zinc-induced conformational changes in the DNA-binding domain of the vitamin D receptor determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used to measure conformational changes within the DNA-binding domain of the vitamin D receptor (VDR DBD) upon binding zinc (Zn²⁺). As increasing concentrations of Zn²⁺ were added to the VDR DBD, a gradual shift in the mass envelope to lower charge states was observed in the multiply charged spectrum. The shift in the charge states was correlated to changes observed in the far-ultraviolet circular dichroic (far-UV CD) spectrum of the protein as it was titrated with Zn²⁺. Both the multiply charged ESI and far-UV CD spectra of the Zn²⁺-titrated protein show that the binding of the first Zn²⁺ ion to the protein results in very little conformational change in the protein. The binding of a second Zn²⁺ ion resulted in a significant alteration in the structure of the protein as indicated by changes in both the multiply charged ESI and far-UV CD spectra. Much smaller changes were seen within the multiply charged ESI or far-UV CD spectra upon increasing the Zn²⁺ concentration beyond 2 mol/mol of protein. The results presented indicate that ESI-MS in combination with CD is a powerful method to measure gross conformational changes induced by the binding of metals to metalloproteins.