Activated ion electron capture dissociation (AI ECD) of proteins: Synchronization of infrared and electron irradiation with ion magnetron motion

Here, we show that to perform activated ion electron capture dissociation (AI-ECD) in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer equipped with a CO₂ laser, it is necessary to synchronize both infrared irradiation and electron capture dissociation with ion magnetron motion. This requirement is essential for instruments in which the infrared laser is angled off-axis, such as the Thermo Finnigan LTQ FT. Generally, the electron irradiation time required for proteins is much shorter (ms) than that required for peptides (tens of ms), and the modulation of ECD, AI ECD, and infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) with ion magnetron motion is more pronounced. We have optimized AI ECD for ubiquitin, cytochrome c, and myoglobin; however the results can be extended to other proteins. We demonstrate that pre-ECD and post-ECD activation are physically different and display different kinetics. We also demonstrate how, by use of appropriate AI ECD time sequences and normalization, the kinetics of protein gas-phase refolding can be deconvoluted from the diffusion of the ion cloud and measured on the time scale longer than the period of ion magnetron motion.     

Fragmentation of oligoribonucleotides from gas-phase ion-electron reactions

We have recently demonstrated that both electron capture dissociation (ECD) and electron detachment dissociation (EDD) can provide complementary sequence-specific cleavage of DNA compared with collision activated dissociation (CAD) and infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD). However, EDD is preferred because of more extensive fragmentation at higher sensitivity (due to its negative ion mode operation). Here, we extend the radical ion chemistry of these two gas-phase ion-electron reaction techniques to the characterization of RNA. Compared with DNA, rather limited information is currently available on the gas-phase fragmentation of RNA. We found that the ECD fragmentation patterns of the oligoribonucleotides A6, C6, and CGGGGC are nucleobase dependent, suggesting that cleavage proceeds following electron capture at the nucleobases. Only limited backbone cleavage was observed in ECD. EDD, on the other hand, provided complete sequence coverage for the RNAs A6, C6, G6, U6, CGGGGC, and GCAUAC. The EDD fragmentation patterns were different from those observed with CAD and IRMPD in that the dominant product ions correspond to d- and w-type ions rather than c- and y-type ions. The minimum differences between oligoribonucleotides suggest that EDD proceeds following direct electron detachment from the phosphate backbone.     

Evaluation and optimization of electron capture dissociation efficiency in fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) efficiency has typically been lower than for other dissociation techniques. Here we characterize experimental factors that limit ECD and seek to improve its efficiency. Efficiency of precursor to product ion conversion was measured for a range of peptide (∼15% efficiency) and protein (∼33% efficiency) ions of differing sizes and charge states. Conversion of precursor ions to products depends on electron irradiation period and maximizes at ∼5–30 ms. The optimal irradiation period scales inversely with charge state. We demonstrate that reflection of electrons through the ICR cell is more efficient and robust than a single pass, because electrons can cool to the optimal energy for capture, which allows for a wide range of initial electron energy. Further, efficient ECD with reflected electrons requires only a short (∼500 μs) irradiation period followed by an appropriate delay for cooling and interaction. Reflection of the electron beam results in electrons trapped in or near the ICR cell and thus requires a brief (∼50 μs) purge for successful mass spectral acquisition. Further electron irradiation of refractory precursor ions did not result in further dissociation. Possibly the ion cloud and electron beam are misaligned radially, or the electron beam diameter may be smaller than that of the ion cloud such that remaining precursor ions do not overlap with the electron beam. Several ion manipulation techniques and use of a large, movable dispenser cathode reduce the possibility that misalignment of the ion and electron beams limits ECD efficiency.     

Peptide fragmentation induced by radicals at atmospheric pressure

A novel ion dissociation technique, which is capable of providing an efficient fragmentation of peptides at essential atmospheric pressure conditions, is developed. The fragmentation patterns observed often contain c‐type fragments that are specific to electron capture dissociation/electron transfer dissociation (ECD/ETD), along with the y‐/b‐type fragments that are specific to collision‐activated dissociation (CAD). In the presented experimental setup, ion fragmentation takes place within a flow reactor located in the atmospheric pressure region between the ion source and the mass spectrometer. According to a proposed mechanism, the fragmentation results from the interaction of ESI‐generated analyte ions with the gas‐phase radical species produced by a corona discharge source. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does double electron capture lead to the formation of biradicals? An ECD-SORI-CID study on lacticin 481

We studied lacticin 481, a small lantibiotic with three lanthionine bridges, by electron capture dissociation (ECD) in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer. Following electron capture, very little fragmentation was observed, but species formed by nondissociative single and multiple electron capture were abundant. Ions formed by double electron capture were subjected to sustained off resonance irradiation collision induced dissociation (SORI-CID) to determine whether stable biradicals were formed. In the SORI-CID spectra of the ions formed by double electron capture, some, but minor, H* radical loss was observed, which was not observed at all for regularly protonated ions. A small part of the ions formed by double electron capture are thus long-lived biradicals. Apart from the observed H* loss, the SORI-CID spectra of ions that captured two electrons was similar to that of regularly protonated ions and quite different from the SORI-CID spectra of radical ions formed by single electron capture. This implies that recombination of the two radical sites is the dominant process in biradical lacticin 481 ions, at least on the time scale of our SORI-CID experiments.     

Electron capture in spin-trap capped peptides. An experimental example of ergodic dissociation in peptide cation-radicals

Electron capture dissociation was studied with tetradecapeptides and pentadecapeptides that were capped at N-termini with a 2-(4'-carboxypyrid-2'-yl)-4-carboxamide group (pepy), e.g., pepy-AEQLLQEEQLLQEL-NH(2), pepy-AQEFGEQGQKALKQL-NH(2), and pepy-AQEGSEQAQKFFKQL-NH(2). Doubly and triply protonated peptide cations underwent efficient electron capture in the ion-cyclotron resonance cell to yield charge-reduced species. However, the electron capture was not accompanied by backbone dissociations. When the peptide ions were preheated by absorption of infrared photons close to the dissociation threshold, subsequent electron capture triggered ion dissociations near the remote C-terminus forming mainly (b(11-14) + 1)(+)* fragment ions that were analogous to those produced by infrared multiphoton dissociation alone. Ab initio calculations indicated that the N-1 and N-1' positions in the pepy moiety had topical gas-phase basicities (GB = 923 kJ mol(-1)) that were greater than those of backbone amide groups. Hence, pepy was a likely protonation site in the doubly and triply charged ions. Electron capture in the protonated pepy moiety produced the ground electronic state of the charge-reduced cation-radical with a topical recombination energy, RE = 5.43-5.46 eV, which was greater than that of protonated peptide residues. The hydrogen atom in the charge-reduced pepy moiety was bound by >160 kJ mol(-1), which exceeded the hydrogen atom affinity of the backbone amide groups (21-41 kJ mol(-1)). Thus, the pepy moiety functioned as a stable electron and hydrogen atom trap that did not trigger radical-type dissociations in the peptide backbone that are typical of ECD. Instead, the internal energy gained by electron capture was redistributed over the peptide moiety, and when combined with additional IR excitation, induced proton-driven ion dissociations which occurred at sites that were remote from the site of electron capture. This example of a spin-remote fragmentation provided the first clear-cut experimental example of an ergodic dissociation upon ECD.     

Electron capture dissociation implementation progress in fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Successful electron capture dissociation (ECD) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) applications to peptide and protein structural analysis have been enabled by constant progress in implementation of improved electron injection techniques. The rate of ECD product ion formation has been increased to match the liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis timescales, and ECD has been combined with infrared multiphoton dissociation in a single experimental configuration to provide simultaneous irradiation, fast switching between the two techniques, and good spatial overlap between ion, photon, and electron beams. Here we begin by describing advantages and disadvantages of the various existing electron injection techniques for ECD in FT-ICR MS. We next compare multiple-pass and single-pass ECD to provide better understanding of ECD efficiency at low and high negative cathode potentials. We introduce compressed hollow electron beam injection to optimize the overlap of ion, photon, and electron beams in the ICR ion trap. Finally, to overcome significant outgassing during operation of a powerful thermal cathode, we introduce nonthermal electron emitter-based electron injection. We describe the first results obtained with cold cathode ECD, and demonstrate a general way to obtain low-energy electrons in FT-ICR MS by use of multiple-pass ECD.     

Ion/Neutral,Ion/Electron,Ion/Photon,and Ion/Ion Interactions in Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Do We Need Them All? Are They Enough?

A range of strategies and tools have been developed to facilitate the determination of primary structures of analyte molecules of interest via tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The two main factors that determine the primary structural information present in an MS/MS spectrum are the type of ion generated from the analyte molecule and the dissociation method. The ion type subjected to dissociation is determined by the ionization method/conditions and ion transformation processes that might take place after initial gas-phase ion formation. Furthermore, the range of analyte-related ion types can be expanded via derivatization reactions prior to mass spectrometry. Dissociation methods include those that simply alter the population of internal states of the mass-selected ion (i.e., activation methods like collision-induced dissociation) as well as processes that rely on the transformation of the ion type prior to dissociation (e.g., electron capture dissociation). A variety of ion interactions have been studied for the purpose of ion dissociation and ion transformation, including ion/neutral, ion/photon, ion/electron, and ion/ion interactions. A wide range of phenomena have been observed, many of which have been explored/developed as means for structural analysis. The techniques arising from these phenomena are discussed within the context of the elements of structural determination in tandem mass spectrometry: ion-type definition and dissociation. Unique aspects of the various ion interactions are emphasized along with any barriers to widespread implementation.     

Electron capture dissociation product ion abundances at the X amino acid in RAAAA-X-AAAAK peptides correlate with amino acid polarity and radical stability

We present mechanistic studies aimed at improving the understanding of the product ion formation rules in electron capture dissociation (ECD) of peptides and proteins in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. In particular, we attempted to quantify the recently reported general correlation of ECD product ion abundance (PIA) with amino acid hydrophobicity. The results obtained on a series of model H-RAAAAXAAAAK-OH peptides confirm a direct correlation of ECD PIA with X amino acid hydrophobicity and polarity. The correlation factor (R) exceeds 0.9 for 12 amino acids (Ile, Val, His, Asn, Asp, Glu, Gln, Ser, Thr, Gly, Cys, and Ala). The deviation of ECD PIA for seven outliers (Pro is not taken into consideration) is explained by their specific radical stabilization properties (Phe, Trp, Tyr, Met, and Leu) and amino acid basicity (Lys, Arg). Phosphorylation of Ser, Thr, and Tyr decreases the efficiency of ECD around phosphorylated residues, as expected. The systematic arrangement of amino acids reported here indicates a possible route toward development of a predictive model for quantitative electron capture/transfer dissociation tandem mass spectrometry, with possible applications in proteomics.     

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.     

Technological Advancements in Mass Spectrometry and Its Impact on Proteomics

Amalgamation of mass spectrometry (MS) and proteomics has led to the most awaited technological inventions such as discovery of clinically potential biomarkers and generation of effective drugs. This review focuses on the synergistic growth in MS instrumentation, proteomics and its impact on biomedical sciences. Novel ionization methods: surface enhanced laser desorption ionization, electrospray assisted laser desorption ionization, desorption electrospray ionization, laser diode thermal desorption are discussed. Different mass analyzers: ion trap, time-of-flight, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance and their applications are outlined. New ion fragmentation techniques: electron capture dissociation, electron transfer dissociation, infrared multiphoton dissociation and their attributes are described.     

Does Electron Capture Dissociation Cleave Protein Disulfide Bonds?

Peptide and protein characterization by mass spectrometry (MS) relies on their dissociation in the gas phase into specific fragments whose mass values can be aligned as ‘mass ladders’ to provide sequence information and to localize possible posttranslational modifications. The most common dissociation method involves slow heating of even-electron (M+n H)ⁿ⁺ ions from electrospray ionization by energetic collisions with inert gas, and cleavage of amide backbone bonds. More recently, dissociation methods based on electron capture or transfer were found to provide far more extensive sequence coverage through unselective cleavage of backbone N–Cα bonds. As another important feature of electron capture dissociation (ECD) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD), their unique unimolecular radical ion chemistry generally preserves labile posttranslational modifications such as glycosylation and phosphorylation. Moreover, it was postulated that disulfide bond cleavage is preferred over backbone cleavage, and that capture of a single electron can break both a backbone and a disulfide bond, or even two disulfide bonds between two peptide chains. However, the proposal of preferential disulfide bond cleavage in ECD or ETD has recently been debated. The experimental data presented here reveal that the mechanism of protein disulfide bond cleavage is much more intricate than previously anticipated.     

Negative-ion electron capture dissociation: radical-driven fragmentation of charge-increased gaseous peptide anions

The generation of gaseous polyanions with a Coulomb barrier has attracted attention as exemplified by previous studies of fullerene dianions. However, this phenomenon has not been reported for biological anions. By contrast, electron attachment to multiply charged peptide and protein cations has seen a surge of interest due to the high utility for tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Electron capture dissociation (ECD) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) involve radical-driven fragmentation of charge-reduced peptide/protein cations to yield N-C(α) backbone bond cleavage, resulting in predictable c'/z(?)-type product ions without loss of labile post-translational modifications (PTMs). However, acidic peptides, e.g., with biologically important PTMs such as phosphorylation and sulfonation, are difficult to multiply charge in positive ion mode and show improved ionization in negative-ion mode. We found that peptide anions ([M - nH](n-), n ≥ 1) can capture electrons within a rather narrow energy range (~3.5-6.5 eV), resulting in charge-increased radical intermediates that undergo dissociation analogous to that in ECD/ETD. Gas-phase zwitterionic structures appear to play an important role in this novel MS/MS technique, negative-ion electron capture dissociation (niECD).     

Side-chain fragmentation of alkylated cysteine residues in electron capture dissociation mass spectrometry

The recent development of novel fragmentation processes based on either electron capture directly or transfer from an anion show great potential for solving problems in proteomics that are intractable by the more widely employed thermal-based fragmentation processes such as collision induced dissociation. The dominant fragmentation occurring upon electron capture dissociation of peptides is cleavage of N-C alpha bonds in the peptide backbone to form c and z* ions. In the case of disulfide-linked peptides, it has also been shown that electron capture on one of the cystine sulfur atoms is favored, resulting in cleavage of the disulfide bond. In this study, we report that electron capture on the sulfur of alkylated cysteine residues is also a dominant process, causing cysteine side-chain loss from z* ions.     

Metastable atom‐activated dissociation mass spectrometry: leucine/isoleucine differentiation and ring cleavage of proline residues

Extensive backbone fragmentation resulting in a‐, b‐, c‐, x‐, y‐ and z‐type ions is observed of singly and doubly charged peptide ions through their interaction with a high kinetic energy beam of argon or helium metastable atoms in a modified quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. The ability to determine phosphorylation‐sites confirms the observation with previous reports and we report the new ability to distinguish between leucine and isoleucine residues and the ability to cleave two covalent bonds of the proline ring resulting in a‐, b‐, x‐, y‐, z‐ and w‐type ions. The fragmentation spectra indicate that fragmentation occurs through nonergodic radical ion chemistry akin to electron capture dissociation (ECD), electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and electron ionization dissociation mechanisms. However, metastable atom‐activated dissociation mass spectrometry demonstrates three apparent benefits to ECD and ETD: (1) the ability to fragment singly charged precursor ions, (2) the ability to fragment negatively charged ions and (3) the ability to cleave the proline ring that requires the cleavage of two covalent bonds. Helium metastable atoms generated more fragment ions than argon metastable atoms for both substance P and bradykinin regardless of the precursor ion charge state. Reaction times less than 250 ms and efficiencies approaching 5% are compatible with on‐line fragmentation, as would be desirable for bottom‐up proteomics applications. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coordination Sphere Tuning of the Electron Transfer Dissociation Behavior of Cu(II)–Peptide Complexes

In contrast to previous electron capture dissociation (ECD) studies, we find that electron transfer dissociation (ETD) of Cu(II)–peptide complexes can generate c- and z-type product ions when the peptide has a sufficient number of strongly coordinating residues. Double-resonance experiments, ion-molecule reactions, and collision-induced dissociation (CID) prove that the c and z product ions are formed via typical radical pathways without the associated reduction of Cu(II), despite the high second ionization energy of Cu. A positive correlation between the number of Cu(II) binding groups in the peptide sequence and the extent of c and z ion formation was also observed. This trend is rationalized by considering that the recombination energy of Cu(II) can be lowered by strong binding ligands to an extent that enables electron transfer to non-Cu sites (e.g., protonation sites) to compete with Cu(II) reduction, thereby generating c/z ions in a manner similar to that observed for protonated (i.e., nonmetalated) peptides.     

Resonant electron capture mass spectrometry of free fatty acids: examination of ion structures using deuterium-labeled fatty acids and collisional activation

The structures of [M-H](-) ions generated from free fatty acids in resonant electron capture at energies of 1.2 and 7.2 eV were investigated using deuterium-labeled isotopomers and collision-induced dissociation. The [M-H](- small middle dot) ions occur in both a carboxylate anion and a carbanion form. While the formation of the carboxylate anion at 1.2 eV involves the loss of a carboxylic hydrogen, that at 7.2 eV involves the loss of a hydrogen from different positions in the aliphatic chain followed by a rearrangement of a carboxylic hydrogen on to the radical site in the chain. The [M-H-H(2)O](-) ion which is a minor ion in the resonant electron capture spectrum at 7.2 eV is shown to be a precursor for the charge-remote fragment ions corresponding to formal losses of a hydrogen and elements of alkanes. The [M-H-H(2)O](-) ion corresponding to the second major ion in the resonant electron capture spectrum at 7.2 eV is demonstrated to be consistent with a cyclopentanone anion structure. On the basis of new insights obtained in the present study and taking into account previous results, an updated proposal is presented for the mechanism of charge-remote fragmentation which operates in resonant electron capture of free fatty acids at 7.2 eV.     

Electron capture by a hydrated gaseous peptide: effects of water on fragmentation and molecular survival

The effects of water on electron capture dissociation products, molecular survival, and recombination energy are investigated for diprotonated Lys-Tyr-Lys solvated by between zero and 25 water molecules. For peptide ions with between 12 and 25 water molecules attached, electron capture results in a narrow distribution of product ions corresponding to primarily the loss of 10-12 water molecules from the reduced precursor. From these data, the recombination energy (RE) is determined to be equal to the energy that is lost by evaporating on average 10.7 water molecules, or 4.3 eV. Because water stabilizes ions, this value is a lower limit to the RE of the unsolvated ion, but it indicates that the majority of the available RE is deposited into internal modes of the peptide ion. Plotting the fragment ion abundances for ions formed from precursors with fewer than 11 water molecules as a function of hydration extent results in an energy resolved breakdown curve from which the appearance energies of the b 2 (+), y 2 (+), z 2 (+*), c 2 (+), and (KYK + H) (+) fragment ions formed from this peptide ion can be obtained; these values are 78, 88, 42, 11, and 9 kcal/mol, respectively. The propensity for H atom loss and ammonia loss from the precursor changes dramatically with the extent of hydration, and this change in reactivity can be directly attributed to a "caging" effect by the water molecules. These are the first experimental measurements of the RE and appearance energies of fragment ions due to electron capture dissociation of a multiply charged peptide. This novel ion nanocalorimetry technique can be applied more generally to other exothermic reactions that are not readily accessible to investigation by more conventional thermochemical methods.     

Improvement of electron capture efficiency by resonant excitation

A novel pulse sequence improving the efficiency for electron capture dissociation (ECD) of an unmodified Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer by more than an order of magnitude is presented. Commercially available FTICR instruments are usually equipped with a filament-based electron source producing an electron beam that has a rather small cross section. An ideal overlap between the rotating ion cloud and the electron beam appears to be a prerequisite for a high ECD efficiency. A reduced interception of the ion cloud and the electron beam is probably due to the contribution of the magnetron motion to the trajectory of the ions, resulting in a precession about the z-axis of the instrument. By increasing the kinetic energy and therefore increasing the cyclotron radii of the precursor ions by resonant excitation, the overlap of the rotating ion cloud with the electron beam is improved. By use of this protocol the efficiency of electron capture is substantially increased and consequently the acquisition time of ECD spectra is reduced significantly. The capability of resonant excitation of the precursor ions during the irradiation with electrons is demonstrated for standard peptides. This approach is particularly valuable for analysis and characterization of O-glycosylated peptides. In addition to amino acid sequence information, the attachment site of the labile glycan moiety is determined, and also radical-site-induced fragmentations of the glycosidic bonds are observed.