Role of the site of protonation in the low-energy decompositions of gas-phase peptide ions

A comparison of positive and negative ion collision-induced dissociation for model heptapeptides with one basic residue

The effects of the identity and position of basic residues on peptide dissociation were explored in the positive and negative modes. Low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) was performed on singly protonated and deprotonated heptapeptides of the type: XAAAAAA, AAAXAAA, AAAAAXA and AAAAAAX, where X is arginine (R), lysine (K) or histidine (H) residues and A is alanine. For [M + H](+), the CID spectra are dominated by cleavages adjacent to the basic residues and the majority of the product ions contain the basic residues. The order of a basic residue's influence on fragmentation of [M + H](+) is arginine > histidine approximately lysine, which is also the order of decreasing gas-phase basicity for these amino acids. These results are consistent with the side chains of basic residues being positive ion charge sites and with the more basic arginine residues having a higher retention (i.e. sequestering) of the positive charge. In contrast, for [M-H](-) the identity and position of basic residues has almost no effect on backbone fragmentation. This is consistent with basic residues not being negative mode charge sites. For these peptides, more complete series of backbone fragments, which are important in the sequencing of unknowns, can be found in the negative mode. Spectra at both polarities contain C-terminal y-ions, but y(n)''(+) has two more hydrogens than the corresponding y(n)(-). Another major difference is the production of the N-terminal backbone series b(n)(+) in the positive mode and c(n)(-) in the negative mode. Thus, comparison of positive and negative ion spectra with an emphasis on searching for pairs of ions that differ by 2 Da (y(n)''(+) vs y(n)(-)) and by 15 Da (b(n)(+) vs c(n)(-)) may be a useful method for determining whether a product ion is generated from the C-terminal or the N-terminal end of a peptide. In addition, a characteristic elimination of NH=C=NH from arginine residues is observed for deprotonated peptides.

Understanding and exploiting Peptide fragment ion intensities using experimental and informatic approaches

Tandem mass spectrometry is a widely used tool in proteomics. This section will address the properties that describe how protonated peptides fragment when activated by collisions in a mass spectrometer and how that information can be used to identify proteins. A review of the mobile proton model is presented, along with a summary of commonly observed peptide cleavage enhancements, including the proline effect. The methods used to elucidate peptide dissociation chemistry by using both small groups of model peptides and large datasets are also discussed. Finally, the role of peak intensity in commercially available and developmental peptide identification algorithms is examined.

Binding energies of protonated betaine complexes: a probe of zwitterion structure in the gas phase

The dissociation kinetics of proton-bound dimers of betaine with molecules of comparable gas-phase basicity were investigated using blackbody infrared radiative dissociation (BIRD). Threshold dissociation energies were obtained from these data using master equation modeling. For bases that have comparable or higher gas-phase basicity, the binding energy of the protonated base.betaine complex is approximately 1.4 eV. For molecules that are approximately 2 kcal/mol or more less basic, the dissociation energy of the complexes is approximately 1.2 eV. The higher binding energy of the former is attributed to an ion-zwitterion structure which has a much larger ion-dipole interaction. The lower binding energy for molecules that are approximately 2 kcal/mol or more less basic indicates that an ion-molecule structure is more favored. Semiempirical calculations at both the AM1 and PM3 levels indicate the most stable ion-molecule structure is one in which the base interacts with the charged quaternary ammonium end of betaine. These results indicate that the measurement of binding energies of neutral molecules to biological ions could provide a useful probe for the presence of zwitterions and salt bridges in the gas phase. From the BIRD data, the gas-phase basicity of betaine obtained from the kinetic method is found to be 239.2 +/- 1.0 kcal/mol. This value is in excellent agreement with the value of 239.3 kcal/mol (298 K) from ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-31+g** level. The measured value is slightly higher than those reported previously. This difference is attributed to entropy effects. The lower ion internal energy and longer time frame of BIRD experiments should provide values closer to those at standard temperature.

Unimolecular reactions of dihydrated alkaline earth metal dications M2+(H2O)2, M = Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba: salt-bridge mechanism in the proton-transfer reaction M2+(H2O)2 --> MOH+ + H3O

The unimolecular reactivity of M(2+)(H(2)O)(2), M = Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba, is investigated by density functional theory. Dissociation of the complex occurs either by proton transfer to form singly charged metal hydroxide, MOH(+), and protonated water, H(3)O(+), or by loss of water to form M(2+)(H(2)O) and H(2)O. Charge transfer from water to the metal forming H(2)O(+) and M(+)(H(2)O) is not favorable for any of the metal complexes. The relative energetics of these processes are dominated by the metal dication size. Formation of MOH(+) proceeds first by one water ligand moving to the second solvation shell followed by proton transfer to this second-shell water molecule and subsequent Coulomb explosion. These hydroxide formation reactions are exothermic with activation energies that are comparable to the water binding energy for the larger metals. This results in a competition between proton transfer and loss of a water molecule. The arrangement with one water ligand in the second solvation shell is a local minimum on the potential energy surface for all metals except Be. The two transition states separating this intermediate from the reactant and the products are identified. The second transition state determines the height of the activation barrier and corresponds to a M(2+)-OH(-)-H(3)O(+) "salt-bridge" structure. The computed B3LYP energy of this structure can be quantitatively reproduced by a simple ionic model in which Lewis charges are localized on individual atoms. This salt-bridge arrangement lowers the activation energy of the proton-transfer reaction by providing a loophole on the potential energy surface for the escape of H(3)O(+). Similar salt-bridge mechanisms may be involved in a number of proton-transfer reactions in small solvated metal ion complexes, as well as in other ionic reactions.

Spectroscopic evidence for mobilization of amide position protons during CID of model peptide ions

Infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy was used to study formation of b2+ from nicotinyl-glycine-glycine-methyl ester (NicGGOMe). IRMPD shows that NicGGOMe is protonated at the pyridine ring of the nicotinyl group, and more importantly, that b2+ from NicGGOMe is not protonated at the oxazolone ring, as would be expected if the species were generated on the conventional bn+/yn+ oxazolone pathway, but at the pyridine ring instead. IRMPD data support a hypothesis that formation of b2+ from NicGGOMe involves mobilization and transfer of an amide position proton during the fragmentation reaction.

Dissociation of protonated peptides containing adjacent arginines

The dissociation of protonated peptides containing adjacent arginines has been studied by electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI MS/MS) and theoretical calculations. The experimental results show that singly protonated peptides cleave at the Arg-Arg amide bond and generate the y(1) ion when adjacent arginines are the C-terminal residues. The major cleavage occurs at the C-terminal amide bond and produces the b(n-1) ion when adjacent arginines are not the C-terminal residues. The diketopiperazine and oxazolone fragmentation pathways of protonated NRR (Asn-Arg-Arg) have been investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) and B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) levels of theory. The geometries and energies of transition state species and hydrogen-bonding interaction are also discussed.

Observations on the detection of b- and y-type ions in the collisionally activated decomposition spectra of protonated peptides

Tandem mass spectrometric data from peptides are routinely used in an unsupervised manner to infer product ion sequence and hence the identity of their parent protein. However, significant variability in relative signal intensity of product ions within peptide tandem mass spectra is commonly observed. Furthermore, instrument-specific patterns of fragmentation are observed, even where a common mechanism of ion heating is responsible for generation of the product ions. This information is currently not fully exploited within database searching strategies; this motivated the present study to examine a large dataset of tandem mass spectra derived from multiple instrumental platforms. Here, we report marked global differences in the product ion spectra of protonated tryptic peptides generated from two of the most common proteomic platforms, namely tandem quadrupole-time-of-flight and quadrupole ion trap instruments. Specifically, quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectra show a significant under-representation of N-terminal b-type fragments in comparison to quadrupole ion trap product ion spectra. Energy-resolved mass spectrometry experiments conducted upon test tryptic peptides clarify this disparity; b-type ions are significantly less stable than their y-type N-terminal counterparts, which contain strongly basic residues. Secondary fragmentation processes which occur within the tandem quadrupole-time-of-flight device account for the observed differences, whereas this secondary product ion generation does not occur to a significant extent from resonant excitation performed within the quadrupole ion trap. We suggest that incorporation of this stability information in database searching strategies has the potential to significantly improve the veracity of peptide ion identifications as made by conventional database searching strategies.

Correct identification of oxidized histidine residues using electron-transfer dissociation

Oxidative modification to the side chain of histidine can noticeably change the collision-induced dissociation (CID) pathways of peptides containing this oxidized residue. In cases where an oxidized peptide consists two or more isomers differing only in the site of modification, oxidation to histidine usually causes the other oxidized sites to be mis-assigned in CID spectra. These spectral misassignments can sometimes be avoided by using multiple stages of MS/MS (MS(n)) or via specially optimized liquid chromatographic separation conditions. In this manuscript, we demonstrate that these misassignments can be more readily and easily avoided by using electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) to dissociate the oxidized peptides. Furthermore, we find that the relative insensitivity of ETD to side-chain chemistry allows the extent of oxidative modification to be determined readily for peptide isomers having more than one site of oxidation. The current results along with previous studies of oxidized peptides suggest that ETD is probably a better technique than CID for obtaining correct sequence and modification information for oxidized peptides.

Spectroscopic evidence for an oxazolone structure of the b(2) fragment ion from protonated tri-alanine

Infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy is used to identify the structure of the b(2)(+) ion generated from protonated tri-alanine by collision induced dissociation (CID). The IRMPD spectrum of b(2)(+) differs markedly from that of protonated cyclo-alanine-alanine, demonstrating that the product is not a diketopiperazine. Instead, comparison of the IRMPD spectrum of b(2)(+) to spectra predicted by density functional theory provides compelling evidence for an oxazolone structure protonated at the oxazolone N-atom.

Factors that influence fragmentation behavior of N-linked glycopeptide ions

The investigation of site-specific glycosylation is essential for further understanding the many biological roles that glycoproteins play; however, existing methods for characterizing site-specific glycosylation either are slow or yield incomplete information. Mass spectrometry (MS) is being applied to investigate site-specific glycosylation with bottom-up proteomic type strategies. When using these approaches, tandem mass spectrometry techniques are often essential to verify glycopeptide composition, minimize false positives, and investigate structure. The fragmentation behavior of glycopeptide ions has previously been investigated with multiple techniques including collision induced dissociation (CID), infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) and electron capture dissociation (ECD); however, due to the almost exclusive analysis of multiply protonated tryptic glycopeptide ions, some dissociation behaviors of N-linked glycopeptide ions have not been fully elucidated. In this study, IRMPD of N-linked glycopeptides has been investigated with a focus on the effects of charge state, charge carrier, glycan composition, and peptide composition. Each of these parameters was shown to influence the fragmentation behavior of N-linked glycopeptide ions. For example, in contrast to previously reported accounts that IRMPD results only in glycosidic bond cleavage, the fragmentation of singly protonated glycopeptide ions containing a basic amino acid residue almost exclusively resulted in peptide backbone cleavage. The fragmentation of the doubly protonated glycopeptide ion exhibited fragmentation similar to that previously reported; however, when the same glycopeptide was sodium coordinated, a previously inaccessible series of glycan fragments were observed. Molecular modeling calculations suggest that differences in the site of protonation and metal ion coordination may direct glycopeptide ion fragmentation.

Surface-induced dissociation of small molecules, peptides, and non-covalent protein complexes

This article provides a perspective on collisions of ions with surfaces, including surface-induced dissociation (SID) and reactive ion scattering spectrometry (RISS). The content is organized into sections on surface-induced dissociation of small ions, surface characterization of organic thin films by collision of well-characterized ions into surfaces, the use of SID to probe peptide fragmentation, and the dissociation of large non-covalent complexes by SID. Examples are given from the literature with a focus on experiments from the authors' laboratory. The article is not a comprehensive review but is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the types of results possible by collisions of ions into surfaces.

Ab initio molecular dynamics of protonated dialanine and comparison to infrared multiphoton dissociation experiments

Finite temperature Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations are performed for the protonated dialanine peptide in vacuo, in relation to infrared multiphoton dissociation experiments. The simulations emphasize the flexibility of the different torsional angles at room temperature and the dynamical exchange between different conformers which were previously identified as stable at 0 K. A proton transfer occurring spontaneously at the N-terminal side is also observed and characterized. The theoretical infrared absorption spectrum is computed from the dipole time correlation function, and, in contrast to traditional static electronic structure calculations, it accounts directly for anharmonic and finite temperature effects. The comparison to the experimental infrared multiphoton dissociation spectrum turns out very good in terms of both band positions and band shapes. It does help the identification of a predominant conformer and the attribution of the different bands. The synergy shown between the experimental and theoretical approaches opens the door to the study of the vibrational properties of complex and floppy biomolecules in the gas phase at finite temperature.

Generation of [La(peptide)]3+ complexes in the gas phase: determination of the number of binding sites provided by dipeptide, tripeptide, and tetrapeptide ligands

Gas-phase complexes [La(peptide)](3+) containing 2-4 amino-acid residues have been investigated by electrospraying solutions containing La(3+) and the peptide; only complexes in which the peptide contained an arginine residue were observed. Using the coordination number of eight for La(3+) [Shi, T.; Hopkinson, A. C.; Siu, K. W. M. Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 1142-1151] and the relative abundances of the hydrates [La(peptide)(H(2)O)(n)](3+), the number of binding sites provided by the peptides was deduced: Leu-Trp-Met-Arg, 7; Met-Arg-Phe-Ala, 6; Gly-Arg-Gly, 4; Gly-Gly-Arg 4; and Met-Arg, 4. Density Functional Theory calculations show that the zwitterionic form of Gly-Gly-Arg preferentially binds La(3+) through four coordination sites-the two amide oxygens and the two carboxy oxygens.

Fragmentations of protonated arginine, lysine and their methylated derivatives: concomitant losses of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide and an amine

The fragmentation pathways of protonated arginine, protonated N(alpha),N(alpha)-dimethylarginine, the N(alpha),N(alpha),N(alpha)-trimethylarginine ion, three protonated N(epsilon),N(epsilon)-dimethyllysines, and three permanent lysine ions in which the charge is fixed by trimethylation are reported. Ion assignment was facilitated by (15)N-labeling and deuterium substitution. The chemistries are dominated by charge-induced elimination of the amino groups as neutrals, including dimethylamine, trimethylamine and guanidine. Competitive losses of the alpha-amino and side-chain amino groups were observed; these losses led to intermediates that had different structures and different subsequent dissociation reactions. Concomitant losses of CO or CO(2) with these amines were also commonly observed. However, the ionic products of amine losses did not subsequently lose CO or CO(2), suggesting strongly that in these concomitant eliminations, it is the CO or CO(2) that was first eliminated, followed immediately by the loss of the amine. Results of density functional theory calculations on protonated arginine and protonated N(alpha),N(alpha)-dimethylarginine reveal that, in such concomitant eliminations, the dissociating complex is vibrationally hot and the intermediate ion formed by losing CO or CO(2) can immediately dissociate to eliminate the amine.

Improved sequencing of oxidized cysteine and methionine containing peptides using electron transfer dissociation

Oxidative modifications to the side chains of sulfur-containing amino acids often limit the number of product ions formed during collision-induced dissociation (CID) and thus make it difficult to obtain sequence information for oxidized peptides. In this work, we demonstrate that electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) can be used to improve the sequence information obtained from peptides with oxidized cysteine and methionine residues. In contrast to CID, ETD is found to be much less sensitive to the side-chain chemistry, enabling extensive sequence information to be obtained in cases where CID fails to provide this information. These results indicate that ETD is a valuable technique for studying oxidatively modified peptides and proteins. In addition, we report a unique and very abundant product ion that is formed in the CID spectra of peptides having N-terminal cysteine sulfinic acid residues. The mechanism for this unique dissociation pathway involves a six-membered cyclic intermediate and leads to the facile loss of NH(3) and SO(2), which corresponds to a mass loss of 81 Da. While the facile nature of this dissociation pathway limits the sequence information present in CID spectra of peptides with N-terminal cysteine sulfinic acid residues, extensive sequence information for these peptides can be obtained with ETD.

Formation of (bn-1 + H2O) ions by collisional activation of MALDI-formed peptide [M + H]+ ions in a QqTOF mass spectrometer

Collisional activation of [M + H](+) parent ions from peptides of n amino acid residues may yield a rearrangement that involves loss of the C-terminal amino acid residue to produce (b(n-1) + H(2)O) daughters. We have studied this reaction by a retrospective examination of the m/z spectra of two collections of data. The first set comprised 398 peptides from coat protein digests of a number of plant viruses by various enzymes, where conditions in the tryptic digests were chosen so as to produce many missed cleavages. In this case, a large effect was observed-323 (b(n-1) + H(2)O) daughter ions (approximately 81%), including 185 (approximately 46%) "strong" decays with ratios (b(n-1) + H(2)O)/(b(n-1)) > 1. The second set comprised 1200 peptides, all from tryptic digests, which were carried out under more stringent conditions, resulting in relatively few missed cleavages. Even here, 190 (b(n-1) + H(2)O) ions (approximately 16%) were observed, including 87 (> 7%) "strong" decays, so the effect is still appreciable. The results suggest that the tendency for (b(n-1) + H(2)O) ion formation is promoted by the protonated side chain of a non-C-terminal basic amino acid residue, in the order arginine >> lysine > or = histidine, and that its (non-C-terminal) position is not critical. The results can be interpreted by a mechanism in which hydrogen bonding between the protonated side chain and the (n - 1) carbonyl oxygen facilitates loss of the C-terminal amino acid residue to give a product ion having a carboxyl group at the new C-terminus.

Evaluation of a novel approach for peptide sequencing: laser-induced acoustic desorption combined with P(OCH(3))(2)(+) chemical ionization and collision-activated dissociation in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer

A novel mass spectrometric method has been developed for obtaining sequence information on small peptides. The peptides are desorbed as intact neutral molecules into a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR) by means of laser-induced acoustic desorption (LIAD). Reactions of the neutral peptides with the dimethoxyphosphenium ion, P(OCH(3))(2)(+), occur predominantly by addition of the peptide to P(OCH(3))(2)(+) followed by the loss of two methanol molecules, thus yielding product ions with the composition (peptide + P - 2H)(+). Upon sustained off-resonance irradiation for collision-activated dissociation (SORI-CAD), the (peptide + P - 2H)(+) ions undergo successive losses of CO and NHCHR or H(2)O, CO, and NHCHR to yield sequence-related fragment ions in addition to the regular a(n)- and b(n)-type ions. Under the same conditions, SORI-CAD of the analogous protonated peptides predominantly yields the regular a(n)- and b(n)-type ions. The mechanisms of the reactions of peptides with P(OCH(3))(2)(+) and the dissociation of the (peptide + P - 2H)(+) ions were examined by using model peptides and molecular orbital calculations.

The effect of histidine oxidation on the dissociation patterns of peptide ions

Oxidative modifications to amino acid side chains can change the dissociation pathways of peptide ions, although these variations are most commonly observed when cysteine and methionine residues are oxidized. In this work we describe the very noticeable effect that oxidation of histidine residues can have on the dissociation patterns of peptide ions containing this residue. A common product ion spectral feature of doubly charged tryptic peptides is enhanced cleavage at the C-terminal side of histidine residues. This preferential cleavage arises as a result of the unique acid/base character of the imidazole side chain that initiates cleavage of a proximal peptide bond for ions in which the number of protons does not exceed the number of basic residues. We demonstrate here that this enhanced cleavage is eliminated when histidine is oxidized to 2-oxo-histidine because the proton affinity and nucleophilicity of the imidazole side chain are lowered. Furthermore, we find that oxidation of histidine to 2-oxo-histidine can cause the misassignment of oxidized residues when more than one oxidized isomer is simultaneously subjected to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). These spectral misinterpretations can usually be avoided by using multiple stages of MS/MS (MS(n)) or by specially optimized liquid chromatographic separation conditions. When these approaches are not accessible or do not work, N-terminal derivatization with sulfobenzoic acid avoids the problem of mistakenly assigning oxidized residues.

Influence of a 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid residue on competitive fragmentation pathways during collision-induced dissociation of metal-cationized peptides

Formation of [bn+17+cat]+ is a prominent collision-induced dissociation (CID) pathway for Li+- and Na+-cationized peptides. Dissociation of protonated and Ag+-cationized peptides instead favors formation of the rival bn+/[bn-1+cat]+ species. In this study the influence of a 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid (4AMBz) residue on the relative intensities of [b(3)-1+cat]+ and [b(3)+17+cat]+ fragment ions was investigated using several model tetrapeptides including those with the general formula A(4AMBz)AX and A(4AMBz)GX (where X=G, A, V). For Li+- and Na+-cationized versions of the peptides there was a significant increase in the intensity of [b(3)-1+cat]+ for the peptides that contain the 4AMBz residue, and in some cases the complete elimination of the [b(3)+17+cat]+ pathway. The influence of the 4AMBz residue may be attributed to the fact that [b(3)-1+cat]+ would be a highly conjugated species containing an aromatic ring substituent. Comparison of CID profiles generated from Na+-cationized AAGV and A(4AMBz)GV suggests an apparent decrease in the critical energy for generation of [b(3)-1+Na]+ relative to that of [b(3)+17+Na]+ when the aromatic amino acid occupies a position such that it leads to the formation of the highly conjugated oxazolinone, thus leading to an increase in formation rate for the former compared to the latter.

Isotope labeling and theoretical study of the formation of a3* ions from protonated tetraglycine

Extensive 13C, 15N, and 2H labeling of tetraglycine was used to investigate the b3+ --> a3* reaction during low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) in a quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometer. The patterns observed with respect to the retention or elimination of the isotope labels demonstrate that the reaction pathway involves elimination of CO and NH3. The ammonia molecule includes 2 H atoms from amide or amino positions, and one from an alpha-carbon position. The loss of NH3 does not involve elimination of the N-terminal amino group but, instead, the N atom of the presumed oxazolone ring in the b3+ ion. The CO molecule eliminated is the carbonyl group of the same oxazolone ring, and the alpha-carbon H atom is transferred from the amino acid adjacent to the oxazolone ring. Quantum chemical calculations indicate a multistep reaction cascade involving CO loss on the b3 --> a3 pathway and loss of NH=CH2 from the a3 ion to form b2. In the postreaction complex of b2 and NH=CH2, the latter can be attacked by the N-terminal amino group of the former. The product of this attack, an isomerized a3 ion, can eliminate NH3 from its N-terminus to form a3*. Calculations suggest that the ammonia and a3* species can form various ion-molecule complexes, and NH3 can initiate relay-type mobilization of the oxazolone H atoms from alpha-carbon positions to form a new oxazolone isomer. This multiple-step reaction scheme clearly explains the isotope labeling results, including unexpected scrambling of H atoms from alpha-carbon positions.

Cleaning of raw peptide MS/MS spectra: Improved protein identification following deconvolution of multiply charged peaks, isotope clusters, and removal of background noise

The dominant ions in MS/MS spectra of peptides, which have been fragmented by low-energy CID, are often b-, y-ions and their derivatives resulting from the cleavage of the peptide bonds. However, MS/MS spectra typically contain many more peaks. These can result not only from isotope variants and multiply charged replicates of the peptide fragmentation products but also from unknown fragmentation pathways, sample-specific or systematic chemical contaminations or from noise generated by the electronic detection system. The presence of this background complicates spectrum interpretation. Besides dramatically prolonged computation time, it can lead to incorrect protein identification, especially in the case of de novo sequencing algorithms. Here, we present an algorithm for detection and transformation of multiply charged peaks into singly charged monoisotopic peaks, removal of heavy isotope replicates, and random noise. A quantitative criterion for the recognition of some noninterpretable spectra has been derived as a byproduct. The approach is based on numerical spectral analysis and signal detection methods. The algorithm has been implemented in a stand-alone computer program called MS Cleaner that can be obtained from the authors upon request.

Investigation of several unique tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of NFDEIDR, an orcokinin analog, and its N-terminal dimethylated form

Orcokinins are a family of myotropic neuropeptides widely present in various decapod crustaceans and insect species. The majority of the orcokinins identified to date share a conserved sequence of NFDEIDR at their N-termini. Electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometric (ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) analysis of doubly charged orcokinin precursor ions reveals the presence of a y(n - 1) + 10 peak, which is more intense than that for the y(n - 1) ion. To elucidate the identity of this novel fragment ion and understand the mechanism underlying this fragmentation, we employed a combined approach involving the use of isotopic N-terminal dimethylation, methyl esterification, and isotope-encoded NFDEIDR. Comparison of the fragmentation patterns of these chemically modified orcokinin analogs allowed the determination of the structure of the y(n - 1) + 10 ion as y(n - 1) + CO--H2O. The yx + CO--H2O ions, along with the yx + CO and yx + CO--NH3 ions, are also present in the MS/MS spectra of NFDEIDR and several other peptides. Additionally, we report two other unusual fragmentation ions in the MS/MS spectra of N-terminal dimethyl NFDEIDR (2+), which yields the novel fragment ions of the y(n - 1) + 38 ion and the [M+2H-59]2+ ion. These two ion series involve the neutral loss of the asparagine side chain. The same sets of ions are also present in other peptides with dimethyl-modified asparagines at the N-terminus. The competition between the side-chain loss and loss of dimethylamine is described. The loss of the side chain of N-terminal dimethyl Asp1 is reported as well. We also report for the first time the neutral loss of ammonia from the N-terminal amino group of Asn1 and the loss of CO2 from the side chain of aspartic acid.

Collision-induced dissociation of protonated tetrapeptides containing beta-alanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, epsilon-aminocaproic acid or 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid residues

The influence of the presence and position of a single beta-alanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, epsilon-aminocaproic acid or 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid residue on the tendency to form b(n)+ -and y(n)+ -type product ions was determined using a group of protonated tetrapeptides with general sequence XAAG, AXAG and AAXG (where X refers to the position of amino acid substitution). The hypothesis tested was that the 'alternative' amino acids would influence product ion signal intensities by inhibiting or suppressing either the nucleophilic attack or key proton transfer steps by forcing the adoption of large cyclic intermediates or blocking cyclization altogether. We found that specific b ions are diminished or eliminated completely when betaA, gammaAbu, Cap or 4AMBz residues are positioned such that they should interfere with the intramolecular nucleophilic attack step. In addition, differences in the relative proton affinities of the alternative amino acids influence the competition between complementary b(n) and y(n) ions. For both the AXAG and the XAAG series of peptides, collision-induced dissociation (CID) generated prominent b ions despite potential inhibition or suppression of intramolecular proton migration by the betaA, gammaAbu, Cap or 4AMBz residues. The prominent appearance of b ions from the AXAG and XAAG peptide is noteworthy, and suggests either that proton migration occurs through larger, 'whole' peptide cyclic intermediates or that fragmentation proceeds through a population of [M+H]+ isomers that are initially protonated at amide O atoms.

Deviation from the mobile proton model in amino-modified peptides: implications for multiple reaction monitoring analysis of peptides

The study of peptide fragmentation is important to the understanding of chemical processes occurring in the gas phase and the more practical concern of peptide identification for proteomic analysis. Using the mobile proton model as a framework, we explore the effect of amino-group modifications on peptide fragmentation. Three aldehydes are used to transform the peptides' primary amino groups into either a dimethylamino or a heterocyclic structure (five- or six-membered). The observed fragmentation patterns deviate strongly from those observed for the analogous underivatised peptides. In particular, the a1 ion is the base peak in most tandem mass spectra of the derivatised peptides. The a1 ion intensity depends strongly on the N-terminal amino acid, with tyrosine and phenylalanine having the strongest enhancement. Despite the change in fragmentation patterns of the derivatised peptides, they still provide high-quality tandem mass spectra that, in many cases, are more amenable to database searching than the spectra of underivatised peptides. In addition, the reliable presence of the a1 ion facilitates rapid quantitative measurements using the multiple reaction monitoring approach.

Investigation of neutral loss during collision-induced dissociation of peptide ions

MS/MS fragmentation of peptides is dominated by overlapping b and y ion series. However, alternative fragmentation possibilities exist, including neutral loss. A database was generated containing 8400 MS/MS spectra of tryptic peptides assigned with high probability to an amino acid sequence (true positives) and a set of certified false (true negative) assignments for analysis of the amino terminus. A similar database was created for analysis of neutral loss at the carboxy termini using a data set of chymotryptic peptides. The analysis demonstrated that the presence of an internal basic residue, limiting proton mobility, has a profound effect on neutral loss. Peptides with fully mobile protons demonstrated minimal neutral loss, with the exception of amide bonds with proline on the carboxy terminal side, which created an intense neutral loss peak. In contrast, peptides with partial proton mobility contained many amino acids on either side of the amide bond associated with a strong neutral loss peak. Most notable among these was proline on the carboxy terminal side of an amide bond and aspartic acid on the amino terminal side of a bond. All results were found to be consistent for doubly and triply charged peptides and after adjustment for pairings across the amide bonds with particularly labile residues. The carboxy terminal of chymotryptic peptides also demonstrated significant neutral loss events associated with numerous amino acid residues. Clarification of the rules that govern neutral loss, when incorporated into analysis software, will improve our ability to correctly assign spectra to peptide sequences.

Fragmentation pathways of protonated peptides

The fragmentation pathways of protonated peptides are reviewed in the present paper paying special attention to classification of the known fragmentation channels into a simple hierarchy defined according to the chemistry involved. It is shown that the 'mobile proton' model of peptide fragmentation can be used to understand the MS/MS spectra of protonated peptides only in a qualitative manner rationalizing differences observed for low-energy collision induced dissociation of peptide ions having or lacking a mobile proton. To overcome this limitation, a deeper understanding of the dissociation chemistry of protonated peptides is needed. To this end use of the 'pathways in competition' (PIC) model that involves a detailed energetic and kinetic characterization of the major peptide fragmentation pathways (PFPs) is proposed. The known PFPs are described in detail including all the pre-dissociation, dissociation, and post-dissociation events. It is our hope that studies to further extend PIC will lead to semi-quantative understanding of the MS/MS spectra of protonated peptides which could be used to develop refined bioinformatics algorithms for MS/MS based proteomics. Experimental and computational data on the fragmentation of protonated peptides are reevaluated from the point of view of the PIC model considering the mechanism, energetics, and kinetics of the major PFPs. Evidence proving semi-quantitative predictability of some of the ion intensity relationships (IIRs) of the MS/MS spectra of protonated peptides is presented.

Letter: collision-induced dissociation of peptide thioesters: influence of the peptide length on the fragmentation

Five peptide thioesters of increasing length were fragmented under two processes, in-source and in- collision cell fragmentation, using an electrospray source coupled to a triple quadrupole. Comparison of their fragmentations was made in regard to the length. The two fragmentation conditions show that the peptide length has no influence on structural information and that the fragmentation efficiency is higher for the smallest peptides than for the longest. The particularity of these peptide thioesters consists on the neutral loss of ethanethiol. The absence of the a3 fragment ion and the presence of the (a3-17) ion on the CID mass spectra are noted.

Isomeric discrimination of arginine-containing dipeptides using electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry and the kinetic method

The Kinetic Method (KM), applied commonly for thermochemical determinations, is used here for sterically-controlled isomeric determination of N- versus C-terminal Arg-containing dipeptide isomers (ArgX versus XArg; where X = His, Leu, Lys, Pro, Ser, Phe, and Tyr). The KM is offered as an alternate approach to direct collision-induced dissociation (CID) procedures. Through formation, isolation, and dissociation of a sterically-encumbered, metal-centered complex with electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry technology, reference dipeptide molecules are screened to quantitatively differentiate a mixture of isomers based on their arrangement about the metal center. Arg-containing dipeptide molecules are chosen because of their contribution in a wide array of protein and peptide functions. Additionally, problems cited previously for evaluation of systems containing Arg residues (due to the incorporation of the guanidinium moiety) by the KM are addressed. The method is shown to be successful for highlighting favorable reference analytes (e.g., ArgPhe, ArgLeu, ProArg, PheArg, among others) for exceptional discrimination (R(iso) > 2.0) of the majority of N- and C-terminal Arg-containing peptides tested.

Methylating peptides to prevent adduct ion formation also directs cleavage in collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry

We investigated the effect of N-terminal amino group and carboxyl group methylation on peptide analysis by electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Permethylation of the N-terminal amino group and the carboxyl groups can reduce metal ion adducts but does not enhance sensitivity in electrospray as previously observed for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. N-terminal trimethylated peptides exhibit collision-induced dissociation (CID) tandem mass spectra that differ from their unmodified analogs; the results support the mobile proton hypothesis of peptide fragmentation. A permanent positive charge at the N-terminus leads to competition between permanent-charge directed processes and loss of the N-terminal trimethyl amino group. Carboxyl methylation has no effect on fragmentation behavior other than to shift the mass of fragments containing methylated carboxyl groups. Comparison of regular and tandem mass spectra of different methylated peptides allowed probing the location of incomplete methylation, the proton displaced by alkali metal ions and the purity of a mass-selected methylated peptide ion.

Surface-Induced Dissociation of Ions Produced by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization in a Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer

Intermediate pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) source was constructed and interfaced with a 6-T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) specially configured for surface-induced dissociation (SID) studies. First MALDI-SID results in FT-ICR are presented, demonstrating unique advantages of SID over conventional FT-ICR MS ion activation techniques for structural characterization of singly protonated peptide ions. Specifically, we demonstrate that SID on a diamond surface results in a significantly better sequence coverage for singly protonated peptides than SORI-CID. A combination of two effects contributes to the improved sequence coverage: shattering of peptide ions on surfaces opens up a variety of dissociation channels at collision energies above 40 eV, and second, wide internal energy distribution deposited by collision with a stiff diamond surface provides an efficient mixing between the primary reaction channels that are dominant at low internal energies and extensive fragmentation at high internal excitation that results from shattering. Activation of MALDI-generated ions by collisions with surfaces in FT-ICR MS is a new powerful method for characterization and identification of biomolecules

Tandem mass spectrum of a growth hormone secretagogue: amide bond cleavage and resultant gas-phase rearrangement

Compound 1 [N-[1(R)-[(1,2-dihydro-1-methylsulfonylspiro[3H-indole-3,4'-piperidin]-1'-yl)carbonyl]-2-(phenylmethyloxy)ethyl]-2-amino-2-methylpropanamide](MW 528) is an orally-active growth hormone secretagogue (GHS). As part of a continual effort to analyze the ESI/MS and MSn data of novel drugs, the ESI/MS and MS/MS data of protonated 1 (m/z 529) are analyzed and reported here. The analyses reveal that under low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) in an ion trap or a quadrupole collision cell, protonated 1 undergoes a gas-phase rearrangement to form protonated 3 (m/z 357) which competes with the y- and b-type product ions during the amide bond cleavages of protonated 1. It is proposed that when the b-type ion is formed by cleavage of the piperidine amide bond, piperidine (a neutral species) and the b-ion (a cation) form an ion-neutral complex. In this complex, piperidine functions as a nucleophile to attack the benzylic carbon of the b-ion, and the protonated ether group in the b-ion acts as a leaving group, which results in the migration of the benzylic group to the piperidine amine to form protonated 3. Protonated 2 (an analog of 1) was studied under the same experimental conditions. The results show that protonated 2 undergoes a similar rearrangement to form protonated 3. While this rearrangement is a relatively minor fragmentation process for protonated 1, it is a predominant process for protonated 2. This phenomenon is explained in terms of the proposed ion-neutral-complex mechanism.

Role of amino acid N-methylation in cyclosporins on ring opening and fragmentation mechanisms during collisionally induced dissociation in an ion trap

The product ion mass spectra (collisionally induced dissociation mass spectra) of 12 different cyclosporins modified at every N-methylated amino acid residue with respect to cyclosporin A were compared and the effect of N-demethylation on ring opening mechanisms was evaluated. The four preferential protonation sites were identified in [MeBmt(1)]-cyclosporins. Three sites represented the N-methylated nitrogens of Sar(3), MeLeu(6) and MeLeu(9), while the remaining one represented the lactone group formed by the intramolecular N,O-acyl shift. Selective N-demethylation resulted either in the deletion of the entire fragment ion series or its substantial attenuation. The structures of three new natural cyclosporins in the study were supported by NMR data.

Easy amino acid sequencing of sulfonated peptides using post-source decay on a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer equipped with a variable voltage reflector

Tryptic peptides were labeled with sulfonic acid groups at the N-termini using an improved chemistry. The derivatization was performed in common aqueous buffers on peptides adsorbed onto a ZipTip trade mark C(18), thus allowing simultaneous desalting/concentration of the sample. When only Arg-terminating peptides were considered, the procedure from adsorption onto the ZipTip until analysis by MALDI-PSD took about 10 min and several samples could be worked on in parallel. The resulting improved post-source decay (PSD) fragmentation produced spectra containing only y-ions. PSD amino acid sequencing of underivatized and derivatized synthetic peptides was compared. From the sequence information obtained from derivatized peptides isolated by ion selection from tryptic in-gel digests, a protein was correctly identified which was difficult to analyze from an unclear peptide mass fingerprint analysis. The method was also applied to the identification and localization of phosphorylated Ser and Tyr residues in native and synthetic peptides.

Investigation of the influence of charge derivatization on the fragmentation of multiply protonated peptides

The fragmentation of the multiply charged peptides b-chain of bovine insulin and glucagon have been investigated under low energy collision induced dissociation (CID) conditions using an electrospray ion trap mass spectrometer. The influence of charge state, specific amino acids such as aspartate or proline, the location of basic sites, and the derivatization on the fragmentation behavior has been the focus of interest. As a basis for understanding the fragmentation process, the concept of the mobile proton was applied. A set of different derivatives was used to manipulate the sites of protonation of the peptides in order to control and improve the fragmentation behavior. These results can be applied for de novo sequencing, although the sequence-specific fragmentation processes have significant influence on the dissociation behavior of the peptides.

Effects of the position of internal histidine residues on the collision-induced fragmentation of triply protonated tryptic peptides

The collision-induced dissociation spectra of a series of synthetic, tryptic peptides that differed by the position of an internal histidine residue were studied. Electrospray ionization of these peptides produced both doubly and triply protonated molecular ions. Collision-induced fragmentation of the triply protonated peptide ions had better efficiency than that of the doubly protonated ions, producing a higher abundance of product ions at lower collision energies. The product ion spectra of these triply protonated ions were dominated by a series of doubly charged y-ions and the amount of sequence information was dependent on the position of the histidine residue. In the peptides where the histidine was located towards the C-terminus of the peptide, a more extensive series of sequence specific product ions was observed. As the position of the histidine residue was moved towards the N-terminus of the peptide, systematically less sequence information was observed. The peptides were subsequently modified with diethylpyrocarbonate to manipulate the product ion spectra. Addition of the ethoxyformyl group to the N-terminus and histidine residue shifted the predominant charge state of the modified peptide to the doubly protonated form. These peptide ions fragmented efficiently, producing product ion spectra that contained more sequence information than could be obtained from the corresponding unmodified peptide.

Gas-phase basicities for ions from bradykinin and its des-arginine analogues

Apparent gas-phase basicities (GB(app)s) for [M + H]+ of bradykinin, des-Arg1-bradykinin and des-Arg9-bradykinin have been assigned by deprotonation reactions of [M + 2H]2+ in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. With a GB(app) of 225.8 +/- 4.2 kcal x mol(-1), bradykinin [M + H]+ is the most basic of the ions studied. Ions from des-Arg1-bradykinin and des-Arg9-bradykinin have GB(app) values of 222.8 +/- 4.3 kcal x mol(-1) and 214.9 +/- 2.3 kcal x mol(-1), respectively. One purpose of this work was to determine a suitable reaction efficiency 'break point' for assigning GB(app) values to peptide ions using the bracketing method. An efficiency value of 0.1 (i.e. approximately 10% of all collisions resulting in a deprotonation reaction) was used to assign GB(app)s. Support for this criterion is provided by the fact that our GB(app) values for des-Arg1-bradykinin and des-Arg9-bradykinin are identical, within experimental error, to literature values obtained using a modified kinetic method. However, the GB(app)s for bradykinin ions from the two studies differ by 10.3 kcal x mol(-1). The reason for this is not clear, but may involve conformation differences produced by experimental conditions. The results may be influenced by salt-bridge conformers and/or by conformational changes caused by the use of a proton-bound heterodimer in the kinetic method. Factors affecting the basicities of these peptide ions are also discussed, and molecular modeling is used to provide information on protonation sites and conformations. The presence of two highly basic arginine residues on bradykinin results in its high GB(app), while the basicity of des-Arg1-bradykinin ions is increased by the presence of two proline residues at the N-terminus. The proline residue in the second position folds the peptide chain in a manner that increases intramolecular hydrogen bonding to the protonated N-terminal amino group of the proline at the first position.

Sequence specific stabilization of a linear analog of the antifungal lipopeptide iturin A2 by sodium during low energy electrospray ionization mass spectrometry conditions

The structures and stability of sodiated species of 8-Beta, a linear lipopeptide analog (beta-aminotetradecanoyl-NYNQPNS) of the antifungal peptide iturin A2, were evaluated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Association of the lipopeptide, 8-Beta, with sodium afforded protection from fragmentation at high cone voltages and increasing collision energy conditions in the ESI-MS. The order of decreasing stability was found as 8-Beta 1Na > 8-Beta 2Na > 8-Beta 3Na > 8-Beta. Substantial differences were found between fragmentation patterns of the free and sodiated molecular species. Breakage of the N-terminal peptide bond of L-Pro generated the major product ions of the free 8-Beta parent ion. Impaired fragmentation of the sodium adducts of 8-Beta, indicated that this bond is protected by sodium complexation. Fragmentation patterns of the sodiated lipopeptide further revealed two specific binding sites for a nonsolvated sodium ion within the two type II beta-turn sequences (beta-aminotetradecanoyl-NYN and QPNS) of the natural iturin A2. It is proposed that specific interaction with sodium takes place with most of the peptide bond oxygens in these turns, and with the Gln sidechain. This interaction leads to stabilized structures in which the peptide backbone, specifically the peptide bonds in which L-Pro participates, is protected against low-energy fragmentation during ESI-MS.