A simple sample preparation for enhancing the sensitivity of mass spectrometric oligosaccharide determinations through the use of an adsorptive hydrophobic resin

Design and application of an open tubular capillary reactor for solid-phase permethylation of glycans in glycoprotein

The permethylation derivatization method for structural analysis of glycans is important for characterizing glycoproteins in the study of glycomics.

Recent developments in sample preparation for chromatographic analysis of carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are a very important group of compounds due to their roles as structural materials, sources of energy, biological functions and environmental analytes; they are characterized by their structural diversity and the high number of isomers they present. While many advances have been made in carbohydrate analysis, the sample preparation remains difficult. This review aims to summarize the most important treatments which have been recently developed to be applied prior to the analysis of carbohydrates by chromatographic techniques. Due to the multiplicity of structures and matrices, many different techniques are required for clean-up, fractionation and derivatization. A number of new techniques which could be potentially adequate for carbohydrate characterization have also been revised.

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update covering the period 1999-2000

This review describes the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry for the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates and continues coverage of the field from the previous review published in 1999 (D. J. Harvey, Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of carbohydrates, 1999, Mass Spectrom Rev, 18:349-451) for the period 1999-2000. As MALDI mass spectrometry is acquiring the status of a mature technique in this field, there has been a greater emphasis on applications rather than to method development as opposed to the previous review. The present review covers applications to plant-derived carbohydrates, N- and O-linked glycans from glycoproteins, glycated proteins, mucins, glycosaminoglycans, bacterial glycolipids, glycosphingolipids, glycoglycerolipids and related compounds, and glycosides. Applications of MALDI mass spectrometry to the study of enzymes acting on carbohydrates (glycosyltransferases and glycosidases) and to the synthesis of carbohydrates, are also covered.

Solid-phase permethylation of glycans for mass spectrometric analysis

A miniaturized approach was developed for quantitative permethylation of oligosaccharides, which involves packing of sodium hydroxide powder in microspin columns or fused-silica capillaries (500 microm i.d.), permitting effective derivatization in less than a minute at microscale. Prior to mass spectrometry, analytes are mixed with methyl iodide in dimethyl sulfoxide solution containing traces of water before infusing through the microreactors. This procedure minimizes oxidative degradation and peeling reactions and avoids the need of excessive clean-up. Picomole amounts of linear and branched, sialylated and neutral glycan samples were rapidly and efficiently permethylated by this approach and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

A study of immunoglobulin G glycosylation in monoclonal and polyclonal species by electrospray and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

N-linked oligosaccharides were released from human and bovine polyclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) obtained from commercial sources and also from a monoclonal IgG(1) secreted by murine B-lymphocyte hybridoma cells (CC9C10) grown under different serum-free conditions. These conditions differed according to their steady-state dissolved oxygen concentrations. This work is based on a previous quantitative study where released glycans were characterized by fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE) and high-pH anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) (J. P. Kunkel, D. C. H. Jan, J. C. Jamieson, and M. Butler, 1998, J. Biotechnol. 62, 55-71). In the present article, peptide-N-glycosidase F-released glycans from different species of polyclonal IgG and murine monoclonal IgG were characterized qualitatively by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The glycans were also analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). The MALDI mass spectrometer used allowed acquisition of MS and tandem MS data, which were useful in structural investigations at a more detailed level than allowed by FACE and HPAEC-PAD. Predominant N-linked structures, as determined by all techniques, were core-fucosyl asialyl biantennary chains with varying galactosylation. Minor amounts of afucosyl, bisected, and monosialyl oligosaccharides were also detected. In contrast to FACE and HPAEC-PAD, MALDI-double quadrupole/time-of-flight MS and HPLC/ESI-MS also detected low-abundance high-mannose and hybrid structures in some of the species under investigation.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry compatible beta-elimination of O-linked oligosaccharides

A new beta-elimination procedure has been introduced to cleave O-linked oligosaccharides from low- to sub-microgram amounts of glycoproteins prior to analysis by mass spectrometry. Borane-ammonia complex in aqueous ammonia is used as a cleaving solution alternative to the sodium borohydride/sodium hydroxide medium conventionally used in beta-elimination. The procedure results in minimum sample purification, leading to minimal sample loss and consequently an overall enhancement in sensitivity. It was applied successfully in the analysis of bovine fetuin and submaxillary mucin, as well as to a complex bile-salt-stimulated lipase glycoprotein isolated from human milk.

Microscale nonreductive release of O-linked glycans for subsequent analysis through MALDI mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis

A new beta-elimination-based procedure has been devised for a microscale release of O-linked oligosaccharides from glycoproteins. Unlike the conventional Carlson degradation, which leads to formation of alditols, the procedure reported here renders the reducing end intact. Conversion of the liberated oligosaccharides to glycosylamines in ammonia medium is followed by the production of the reducing oligosaccharides through the addition of boric acid. The quantitatively generated oligosaccharides with the reducing end can subsequently be derivatized with a fluorophoric reagent for capillary electrophoresis or, alternatively, analyzed through MALDI mass spectrometry. The microscale version of these chemical steps permits us to investigate structurally O-linked oligosaccharides at very low levels.