Rapid Characterization of Bacterial Lipids with Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Species Differentiation

Ambient ionization mass spectrometry (AIMS) is both labor and time saving and has been proven to be useful for the rapid delineation of trace organic and biological compounds with minimal sample pretreatment. Herein, an analytical platform of probe sampling combined with a thermal desorption–electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS) and multivariate statistical analysis was developed to rapidly differentiate bacterial species based on the differences in their lipid profiles. For comparison, protein fingerprinting was also performed with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) to distinguish these bacterial species. Ten bacterial species, including five Gram-negative and five Gram-positive bacteria, were cultured, and the lipids in the colonies were characterized with TD-ESI/MS. As sample pretreatment was unnecessary, the analysis of the lipids in a bacterial colony growing on a Petri dish was completed within 1 min. The TD-ESI/MS results were further performed by principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to assist the classification of the bacteria, and a low relative standard deviation (5.2%) of the total ion current was obtained from repeated analyses of the lipids in a single bacterial colony. The PCA and HCA results indicated that different bacterial species were successfully distinguished by the differences in their lipid profiles as validated by the differences in their protein profiles recorded from the MALDI-TOF analysis. In addition, real-time monitoring of the changes in the specific lipids of a colony with growth time was also achieved with probe sampling and TD-ESI/MS. The developed analytical platform is promising as a useful diagnostic tool by which to rapidly distinguish bacterial species in clinical practice.     

New matrix of MALDI-TOF MS for analysis of small molecules

New matrix, metal-phthalocyanine (MPc), of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was used for analysis of small molecules (usually <500 Da). By using MPcs as matrices, small molecular samples were moved to high mass-to-charge region where there was no interference caused by the traditional matrices. The mass of the target analyte was obtained by simple calculation.     

Analysis of the saliva from patients with oral cancer by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), this study analyzed the saliva obtained from patients with oral cancer and compared these mass spectra with those obtained from healthy controls. Saliva without pre-treatment was mixed directly with a sinapinic acid matrix. Alpha-amylase (57 kDa) dominated the high mass range in the MALDI mass spectra of the saliva from healthy subjects, but the peak was suppressed for patients with oral cancer and was replaced by a peak at m/z 66 k in the spectra of patients' samples (15 out of 20). Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with in-gel tryptic digestion combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) was employed to characterize this 66-kDa protein, which was thus shown to be albumin. However, based on SDS-PAGE results, concentrations of both alpha-amylase and albumin in patients' saliva were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects. This discrepancy was shown to be due to MALDI suppression effects due to the albumin. MALDI-MS thus has potential as a possible rapid diagnostic screening tool for oral cancer.     

MALDI MSI Reveals the Spatial Distribution of Protein Markers in Tracheobronchial Lymph Nodes and Lung of Pigs after Respiratory Infection

Respiratory infections are a real threat for humans, and therefore the pig model is of interest for studies. As one of a case for studies, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) caused infections and still worries many pig breeders around the world. To better understand the influence of pathogenic effect of APP on a respiratory system—lungs and tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLN), we aimed to employ matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-TOF MSI). In this study, six pigs were intranasally infected by APP and two were used as non-infected control, and 48 cryosections have been obtained. MALDI-TOF MSI and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to study spatial distribution of infectious markers, especially interleukins, in cryosections of porcine tissues of lungs (necrotic area, marginal zone) and tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLN) from pigs infected by APP. CD163, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and a protegrin-4 precursor were successfully detected based on their tryptic fragments. CD163 and IL-1β were confirmed also by IHC. The protegrin-4 precursor was identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF directly on the tissue cryosections. CD163, IL-1β and protegrin-4 precursor were all significantly (p < 0.001) more expressed in necrotic areas of lungs infected by APP than in marginal zone, TBLN and in control lungs.     

Peptide quantification by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry: investigations of the cyclotide kalata B1 in biological fluids

A rapid method has been developed for the quantification of the prototypic cyclotide kalata B1 in water and plasma utilizing matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The unusual structure of the cyclotides means that they do not ionise as readily as linear peptides and as a result of their low ionisation efficiency, traditional LC/MS analyses were not able to reach the levels of detection required for the quantification of cyclotides in plasma for pharmacokinetic studies. MALDI-TOF-MS analysis showed linearity (R2 > 0.99) in the concentration range 0.05-10 microg/mL with a limit of detection of 0.05 microg/mL (9 fmol) in plasma. This paper highlights the applicability of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for the rapid and sensitive quantification of peptides in biological samples without the need for extensive extraction procedures.     

Characterization by mass spectrometry of an unknown polysiloxane sample used under uncontrolled medical conditions for cosmetic surgery

For a complete understanding of the raw material used for cosmetic surgery under uncontrolled medical conditions, an unknown sample of polydimethylsiloxanes has been investigated utilizing a combination of analytical techniques: pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py/GC/MS), electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF)MS, and liquid chromatography (LC)/MS. Among these techniques, the LC/APCI-MS coupling allowed the fastest and more effective analysis. In addition, the complexity of the mass spectra deduced from these LC/MS experiments was simplified compared to the mass spectra obtained by MALDI-TOF. In this work, we have demonstrated how the LC/APCI-MS coupling applied to polydimethylsiloxane samples permits the full characterization of samples where end groups of different nature can be present in very small quantities.     

基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱表征双二氮杂萘酮化合物

采用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MAIDI-TOF MS)，以2，5-二羟基苯甲酸(DHB)为基体对10种合成的新型双二氮杂萘酮化合物进行了质谱分析，得到了较强的样品准分子离子信号；对校正标样进行了筛选并讨论了标样对测定准确度的影响；研究了样品与金属离子形成加成物的性质。     

Liquid chromatographic and mass spectrometric analysis of human serum acid alpha-1-glycoprotein

Human serum acid alpha-1-glycoprotein (AGP, orosomucoid) content of healthy individuals and cancer patients was measured, isolated and purified using a protocol of fast and biocompatible sample preparation, ion exchange and dye-ligand affinity chromatographic methods. In comparison to the healthy individuals significantly higher serum AGP levels were found in a wide spectrum of cancer patients, indicating its diagnostic value in the malignant disease. Oligosaccharide content of AGP samples was separated following PNGase F enzyme digestion and analysed by RP-HPLC and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. RP-HPLC and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis of sugar constituents of AGP specimen originated from selected cancer patients with high serum AGP levels indicated the appearance of anomal distribution of bi-, tri- and tetra-antennary oligosaccharide structures compared to the healthy controls.     

Serum protein profiling in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases using selective solid-phase bulk extraction, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and chemometric data analysis

The identification of new biomarkers or a disease-related protein fingerprint for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) represents a major task in the diagnosis, prognosis and pharmacological therapy. To address these issues, a simple and rapid analytical proteomic method for serum protein profiling based on selective beads-based solid-phase bulk extraction, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and chemometric data analysis was developed. Serum proteins from healthy subjects (22) and patients with Crohn's disease (15) and ulcerative colitis (26) were selectively extracted according to reversed-phase (C18), strong anion-exchange (SAX) and metal ion affinity (IDA-Cu(II)) principles. This approach allowed enrichment of serum proteins/peptides due to the high interaction surface between analytes and the solid phase and high recovery due to the elution step performed directly on the MALDI-target plate. The MALDI-TOF MS serum protein profiles were acquired and, after a data pre-processing step, analyzed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA), a chemometric classification technique, in order to classify serum samples among healthy subjects and patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Since the high number of variables in the MALDI spectra (more than 16000 m/z values) prevents the use of LDA, the variables were reduced to 10-20 by features selection, thus allowing the evaluation of a pattern of m/z values with high discriminant power. Serum protein profiles obtained by reversed-phase extraction and the selection of 20 m/z values gave the best overall prediction ability (96.9%). The recognition of these m/z values may allow the identification of protein biomarkers involved in IBDs.     

High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry Identifies a Particular Ganglioside Pattern in Early Diabetic Kidney Disease of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Considering the valuable information provided by glycosphingolipids as molecular markers and the limited data available for their detection and characterization in patients suffering from Type 2 diabetic kidney disease (DKD), we developed and implemented a superior method based on high-resolution (HR) mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS (MS/MS) for the determination of gangliosides in the urine of DKD patients. This study was focused on: (i) testing of the HR MS and MS/MS feasibility and performances in mapping and sequencing of renal gangliosides in Type 2 DM patients; (ii) determination of the changes in the urine gangliosidome of DKD patients in different stages of the disease—normo-, micro-, and macroalbuminuria—in a comparative assay with healthy controls. Due to the high resolution and mass accuracy, the comparative MS screening revealed that the sialylation status of the ganglioside components; their modification by O-acetyl, CH₃COO⁻, O-fucosyl, and O-GalNAc; as well as the composition of the ceramide represent possible markers for early DKD detection, the assessment of disease progression, and follow-up treatment. Moreover, structural investigation by MS/MS demonstrated that GQ1d(d18:1/18:0), GT1α(d18:1/18:0) and GT1b(d18:1/18:0) isomers are associated with macroalbuminuria, meriting further investigation in relation to their role in DKD.     

Identification of catecholamines in the immune system by desorption/ionization on silicon

Desorption/ionization from porous silicon dioxide (DIOSD), in combination with a standard matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) instrument, was used for the identification of catecholamines in the human peripheral blood lymphocytes. A routine MALDI-TOF analysis does not allow for sensitive detection of low molecular mass compounds (i.e. below 400 Da) due to the pronounced background ions arising from the matrix. Therefore, we have tested DIOSD methodology for the identification of catecholamines in the immune system. Using DIOSD, catecholamines were unambiguously identified in the cell extract of peripheral blood lymphocytes at the femtomolar level. The DIOSD extends the possible use of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry towards small molecules that were previously detected by other methods.     

基质辅助激光解析电离-飞行时间质谱分析寡核苷酸G-四链体

我们发展了一种利用基质辅助激光解析电离飞行时间质谱技术(MALDI-TOF MS)分析对金属离子具有较高亲和力的寡核苷酸G-四链体的方法.考察了不同基质:3-羟基吡啶甲酸(3-HPA)与柠檬酸氢二铵(DHC)混合基质、3,4-二胺基苯基苯甲酮(DABP)及DABP/DHC混合基质,应用于G-四链体分析的效果.实验结果表...     

Integration of ion-exchange chromatography fractionation with reversed-phase liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometer and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for isolation and identification of compounds in Psoralea corylifolia

An approach for the separation and identification of components in a traditional Chinese medicine Psoralea corylifolia was developed. Ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) was applied for the fractionation of P. corylifolia extract, and then followed by concentration of all the fractions with rotary vacuum evaporator. Each of the enriched fractions was then further separated on an ODS column with detection of UV absorbance and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometer (APCI/MS), respectively, and also analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS) with matrix of oxidized carbon nanotubes. Totally more than 188 components in P. corylifolia extract were detected with this integrated approach, and 12 of them were preliminary identified according to their UV spectra and mass spectra performed by APCI/MS and MALDI-TOF/MS. The obtained analytical results not only demonstrated the powerful resolution of integration IEC fractionation with reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC)-APCI/MS and MALDI-TOF/MS for analysis of compounds in a complex sample, but also exhibited the superiority of APCI/MS and MALDI-TOF/MS for identification of low-mass compounds, such as for study of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and metabolome.     

Analysis of 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid labelled N-glycans by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE) is a fast and efficient analytical method which is now widely used in glycobiology for the separation and quantification of free or glycoprotein-released oligosaccharides. However, since identification by FACE of N-glycan structures is only based on their electrophoretic mobility after labelling with 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3, 6-trisulfonic acid (ANTS), co-migration of derived glycans on gel could occur which may result in erroneous structural assignments. As a consequence, a protocol was developed for the fast and efficient matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometric analysis of ANTS-labelled N-glycans. N-Glycans were isolated from plant and mammalian glycoproteins, reductively aminated with the charged fluorophore 8-aminonaphthalene-1, 3, 6-trisulfonic acid (ANTS) and separated using high resolution polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The ANTS-labelled glycans were eluted from FACE gel slices and then analysed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in negative ion mode. Using 3-aminoquinoline containing 2.5 mM citrate NH(4)(+) as matrix, neutral N-linked N-glycans, as well as labelled sialylated oligosaccharides, were found to be easily detected in the 2-10 picomole range giving rise to ?M - H(-) ions.     

Discrimination of Penicillium isolates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry fingerprinting

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was used to generate highly reproducible mass spectral 'fingerprints' for twelve Penicillium species. Prior to MALDI-TOF MS analysis, eight replicate cultures of each Penicillium species were subjected to three one-minute bead-beating cycles in an acetonitrile/trifluoroacetic acid solvent. The mass spectra contained abundant peaks in the range of m/z 5000-20 000, and allowed unambiguous discrimination between species. In addition, a biomarker common to all Penicillium mass spectra was observed at m/z 13 900. Discriminant analysis using the MALDI-TOF MS data yielded classification error rates of 0% (i.e. 100% correct identification), indicating that MALDI-TOF MS data may be a useful diagnostic tool for the objective identification of Penicillium species of environmental and clinical importance.     

Characterization of plant oligosaccharides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and electrospray mass spectrometry

Structural characterization of arabinoxylans from wheat by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry using a Q-TOF mass analyser (ESI-Q-TOF) or an ion trap (IT) mass analyser is presented. An arabinoxylan sample digested with endoxylanase A was analysed using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS), resulting in the identification of molecular ions for structures with up to 22 monosaccharide residues. As the two-component monosaccharides xylose and arabinose are isobaric, structures differing in the number of arabinose branching residues were indistinguishable based on molecular mass and also fragmentation pattern upon collision-induced dissociation (CID). Permethylation followed by ESI-CID analyses using ITMS was performed to obtain structural information regarding the number of arabinose branching residues and their spatial arrangement along the xylose backbone. Analysis of the signal corresponding to an oligomer with six monosaccharide residues showed the presence of at least four isomeric structures differing in degree of branching and position of the branched residue relative to the cleavage site of the enzyme. This is the first demonstration of the use of ESI-ITMS for the structural characterization of arabinoxylan mixtures.     

Use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass mapping and nanospray liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry sequence tag analysis for high sensitivity identification of yeast proteins separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

Current analytical techniques in protein identification by mass spectrometry are based on the generation of peptide mass maps or sequence tags that are idiotypic for the protein sequence. This work reports on the development of the use of mass spectrometric methods for protein identification in research on metabolic pathways of a genetically modified strain of the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This study describes the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass mapping and liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/Q-TOF-ESI-MS/MS) sequence tag analysis in identification of yeast proteins separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). The spots were selected for analysis in order to collect information for future studies, to cover the whole pI range from 3 to 10, and to evaluate information from spots of different intensities. Mass mapping as a rapid, high-throughput method was in most cases sensitive enough for identification. LC/MS/MS was found to be more sensitive and to provide more accurate data, and was very useful when analyzing small amounts of sample. Even one sequence tag acquired by this method could be enough for unambiguous identification, and, in the present case, successfully identified a point mutation.     

DNA assay based on monolayer-barcoded nanoparticles for mass spectrometry in combination with magnetic microprobes

Mass spectrometry (MS) based methodology offers simple, fast and sensitive diagnosis. While it has become the predominate approach in biomolecular analysis, it has not been suitable for analyzing nucleic acid due to its low ionization efficiency. We report herein on a DNA assay based on monolayer-barcoded nanoparticles that were encoded with reporter mass molecules, which act as surrogate molecules for the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS (MALDI-TOF MS) identification of target DNA through mass spectrometry in combination with magnetic microprobes. This assay demonstrated high MS sensitivity, with the ability to detect target DNA at femtomolar (10⁻¹⁵ M) levels. This inaugural effort using combined techniques is significant because it showed an extraordinary analytical capability for differentiating the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), which comprises the most abundant source of genetic variation in the human genome. We also report herein the feasibility of MS detection of two target DNAs that have the same mass but different nucleotide base composition, which classic MS methodology is inherently unable to differentiate.     

Study of tungstate–protein interaction in human serum by LC–ICP-MS and MALDI-TOF

Oral administration of sodium tungstate is an effective treatment for type 1 and 2 diabetes in animal models; it does not incur significant side effects, and it may constitute an alternative to insulin. However, the mechanism by which tungstate exerts its observed metabolic effects in vivo is still not completely understood. In this work, serum-containing proteins which bind tungstate have been characterized. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with a Phenomenex Bio-Sep-S 2000 column and 20 mM HEPES and 150 mM NaCl at pH 7.4 as the mobile phase was chosen as the most appropriate methodology to screen for tungsten–protein complexes. When human serum was incubated with tungstate, three analytical peaks were observed, one related to tungstate–albumin binding, one to free tungstate, and one to an unknown protein binding (MW higher than 300 kDa). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometric analysis of the tungsten-containing fractions collected from SEC–ICP-MS chromatograms, after desalting and preconcentration processes, confirmed the association of tungstate with albumin and the other unknown protein. Figure SEC-ICP-MS // MALDI-TOF     

Accurate mass measurement of low molecular weight compounds by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

We report the application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the accurate measurement of mass of low molecular weight compounds (smaller than 1500 Da), a linear peptide, two types of cyclic depsipeptides, a polyhydroxy-macrocyclic lactone, and two prenylated flavonoids, with delayed extraction in the reflector mode. The performance of the MALDI-TOF instrument was less than those of fast atom bombardment and Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry instruments and insufficient to give acceptable accuracy for literature reporting. Nevertheless, when combined with NMR spectrometry and/or amino acid analysis to give information on the numbers of carbon atoms and index of hydrogen deficiency, MALDI was useful for determination of the elemental composition of the low molecular weight compounds available in small quantities.