Ultraviolet photodissociation of carboxylate-derivatized peptides in a quadrupole ion trap

Stochastic dynamic ultraviolet photofragmentation and high collision energy dissociation mass spectrometric kinetics of triadimenol and sucralose

The major goal of the paper is to provide empirical proof of view that innovative stochastic dynamic mass spectrometric equation D″_SD = 2.6388·10^-17·(< I² >  -  < I > ²) determines the exact analyte concentration in solution via quantifying experimental variable intensity (I) of an analyte ion per any short span of scan time of any measurement, which also appears applicable to quantify laser-induced ultraviolet photofragmentation and high energy collision dissociation mass spectrometric processes. Triadimenol (1) and sucralose (2) using positive and negative polarity are examined. Laser irradiation energy λ_ex = 213 nm is utilized. The issue is of central importance for monitoring organic micro-pollutants in surface, ground, and drinking water as well as tasks of risk assessment for environment and human health from contamination with organics. Despite the significant importance of the topic, answering the question of functional kinetic relations of such processes is by no means straightforward, so far, due to a lack of in-depth knowledge of mechanistic aspects of fragment paths of analytes in environment and foods as well as kinetics of processes under ultraviolet laser irradiation. Although there is truth in the classical theory of first-order reaction kinetics, it does not describe all kinetic data on analytes (1) and (2). A new damped sine wave functional response to a large amount of kinetics is presented. High-resolution mass spectrometric data and chemometrics are used. The study provides empirical evidence for claim that temporal behavior of mass spectrometric variable intensity under negative polarity obeys a certain scientific law written by means of equation above. It is the same for positive and negative soft-ionization mass spectrometric conditions.

Increasing specificity of tandem mass spectrometry by laser-induced dissociation

Mass spectrometry offers an arsenal of tools for diverse proteomic investigations. This perspective article reviews some of the recent developments in the field of coupling laser-induced dissociation with mass spectrometry (LID-MS). Strategies involving labelling with a chromophore to induce specific photo-absorption properties are considered, with a focus on specific amino acid derivatization. Some of the opportunities and challenges of LID-MS after targeted labelling for increasing specificity in complex sample analysis are discussed.

Symmetry of Charge Partitioning in Collisional and UV Photon-Induced Dissociation of Protein Assemblies

Tandem mass spectrometry can provide structural information on intact protein assemblies, generating mass fingerprints indicative of the stoichiometry and quaternary arrangement of the subunits. However, in such experiments, collision-induced dissociation yields restricted information due to simultaneous subunit unfolding, charge rearrangement, and subsequent ejection of a highly charged unfolded single subunit. Alternative fragmentation strategies can potentially overcome this and supply a deeper level of structural detail. Here, we implemented ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) on an Orbitrap mass spectrometer optimized for native MS and benchmark its performance to HCD fragmentation using various protein oligomers. We investigated dimeric β-lactoglobulin, dimeric superoxide dismutase, dimeric and tetrameric concanavalin A, and heptameric GroES and Gp31; ranging in molecular weight from 32 to 102 kDa. We find that, for the investigated systems, UVPD produces more symmetric charge partitioning than HCD. While HCD spectra show sporadic fragmentation over the full protein backbone sequence of the subunits with a bias toward fragmenting labile bonds, UVPD spectra provided higher sequence coverage. Taken together, we conclude that UVPD is a strong addition to the toolbox of fragmentation methods for top-down proteomics experiments, especially for native protein assemblies.

Streamlining bottom-up protein identification based on selective ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) of chromophore-tagged histidine- and tyrosine-containing peptides

We report a fast and highly efficient diazonium reaction that couples a nitroazobenzene chromophore to tyrosine and histidine residues, thus endowing peptides with high photoabsorption cross sections at 351 nm in the gas phase. Only the tagged peptides undergo ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) at 351 nm, as demonstrated for several Tyr- and His-containing peptides from protein digests. Additional selectivity is achieved by the integration of the UVPD-MS method with an in silico database search restricted to Tyr- and His-containing peptides. A modified MassMatrix algorithm condenses analysis by filtering the input database file to include Tyr/His-containing peptides only, thus reducing the search space and increasing confidence. In summary, derivatization of specific amino acid residues in conjunction with selective activation of the derivatized peptides provides a streamlined approach to shotgun proteomics.

Photodissociation mass spectrometry: new tools for characterization of biological molecules

Photodissociation mass spectrometry combines the ability to activate and fragment ions using photons with the sensitive detection of the resulting product ions by mass spectrometry. This combination affords a versatile tool for characterization of biological molecules. The scope and breadth of photodissociation mass spectrometry have increased substantially over the past decade as new research groups have entered the field and developed a number of innovative applications that illustrate the ability of photodissociation to produce rich fragmentation patterns, to cleave bonds selectively, and to target specific molecules based on incorporation of chromophores. This review focuses on many of the key developments in photodissociation mass spectrometry over the past decade with a particular emphasis on its applications to biological molecules.