UV photodissociation of proline-containing peptide ions: insights from molecular dynamics

Comparison of Top-Down Protein Fragmentation Induced by 213 and 193 nm UVPD

The growing interest in advancing tandem mass spectrometry strategies for top-down proteomics has motivated efforts to optimize ion activation strategies for intact proteins, including the comparison of 193 and 213 nm wavelengths for ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD). The present study focuses on the performance and outcomes of UVPD for five proteins, ubiquitin, cytochrome C, frataxin, myoglobin, and carbonic anhydrase, with an emphasis on evaluating the similarities and differences in fragmentation promoted by UVPD using 193 nm versus 213 nm photons. Mass spectra were collected as a function of the number of laser pulses, and precursor depletion levels were monitored and controlled to provide consistent energy deposition between 213 and 193 nm UVPD. Fragment ions were confirmed on the basis of their isotopic distributions in m/z space to preserve both charge state and abundance information and were classified on the basis of ion type and frequency. A large portion of the total fragment ion abundance was attributable to preferential cleavages, particularly ones adjacent to proline residues. These cleavages were examined on the basis of the backbone site and abundances, revealing that a and y-2 ions N-terminal to proline residues appeared at disproportionately high abundances in 213 nm UVPD spectra as compared to 193 nm UVPD spectra, highlighting one notable difference in the top-down spectra. We theorize that these fragments are formed more efficiently in 213 nm UVPD than in 193 nm UVPD due to increased absorption of 213 nm photons at the proline amide bond.

Effective Amino Acid Sequencing of Intact Filgrastim by Multimodal Mass Spectrometry with Topdownr

Therapeutic proteins, known as biologicals, are an important and growing class of drugs for treatment of a series of human ailments. Amino acid sequence variants of therapeutic proteins can affect their safety and efficacy. Top-down mass spectrometry is well suited for the sequence analysis of intact therapeutic proteins. Fine-tuning of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) fragmentation conditions is essential for maximizing the amino acid sequence coverage but is often time-consuming. We used topdownr, an automated and integrated multimodal approach to systematically assess high mass accuracy MS/MS fragmentation parameters to characterize filgrastim, a 19 kDa recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor used in treating neutropenia. A total of 276 different MS/MS conditions were systematically tested, including the following parameters: protein charge state, HCD and CID collision energy, ETD reaction time, ETD supplemental activation, and UVPD activation time. Stringent and accurate evaluation and annotation of the MS/MS data was achieved by requiring a fragment ion mass error of 5 ppm, considering reproducible N- and C-terminal fragment ions only, and excluding internal fragment ion assignments. We report the first EThcD and UVPD MS/MS analysis of intact filgrastim, and these two techniques combined resulted in 98% amino acid sequence coverage. By combining all tested fragmentation modes, we obtained near-complete amino acid sequence coverage (99.4%) of intact filgrastim.

Efficient Isothiocyanate Modification of Peptides Facilitates Structural Analysis by Radical-Directed Dissociation

Radical-directed dissociation (RDD) is a powerful technique for structural characterization of peptides in mass spectrometry experiments. Prior to analysis, a radical precursor must typically be appended to facilitate generation of a free radical. To explore the use of a radical precursor that can be easily attached in a single step, we modified peptides using a "click" reaction with iodophenyl isothiocyanate. Coupling with amine functional groups proceeds with high yields, producing stable iodophenylthiourea-modified peptides. Photodissociation yields were recorded at 266 and 213 nm for the 2-, 3-, and 4-iodo isomers of the modifier and found to be highest for the 4-iodo isomer in nearly all cases. Fragmentation of the modified peptides following collisional activation revealed favorable losses of the tag, and electronic structure calculations were used to evaluate a potential mechanism involving hydrogen transfer within the thiourea group. Examination of RDD data revealed that 4-iodobenzoic acid, 4-iodophenylthiourea, and 3-iodotyrosine yield similar fragmentation patterns for a given peptide, although differences in fragment abundance are noted. Iodophenyl isothiocyanate labeling in combination with RDD can be used to differentiate isomeric amino acids within peptides, which should facilitate simplified evaluation of isomers present in complex biological samples.

Influence of protein ion charge state on 213 nm top-down UVPD

Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) is a powerful and rapidly developing method in top-down proteomics. Sequence coverages can exceed those obtained with collision- and electron-induced fragmentation methods. Because of the recent interest in UVPD, factors that influence protein fragmentation and sequence coverage are actively debated in the literature. Here, we performed top-down 213 nm UVPD experiments on a 7 T Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) for the model proteins ubiquitin, myoglobin and cytochrome c that were electrosprayed from native, denaturing and supercharging solutions in order to investigate the effect of protein charge states on UVPD fragments. By performing UVPD in ultrahigh vacuum, factors associated with collisional cooling and any ion activation during transfer between mass analyzers can be largely eliminated. Sequence coverage increased from <10% for low charge states to >60% for high charge states for all three proteins. This trend is influenced by the overall charge state, i.e., charges per number of amino acid residues, and to a lesser degree by associated structural changes of protein ions of different charge states based on comparisons to published collision-cross section measurements. To rationalize this finding, and correlate sequence ion formation and identity with the number and location of protons, UVPD results were compared to protonation sites predicted based on electrostatic modelling. Assuming confined protonation sites, these results indicate the presence of two general fragmentation types; i.e., charge remote and charge directed. For moderately high protein charge states, fragment ions mostly originate in regions between likely protonation sites (charge remote), whereas sequence ions of highly charge protein ions occur either near backbone amide protonation sites at low-basicity residues (charge directed) or at charge remote sites (i.e., high-basicity residues). Overall, our results suggest that top-down 213 UVPD performance in the zero-pressure limit depends strongly on protein charge states and protonation sites can influence the location of backbone cleavages.

Coupling 193 nm Ultraviolet Photodissociation and Ion Mobility for Sequence Characterization of Conformationally-Selected Peptides

Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) has emerged as a useful technique for characterizing peptide, protein, and protein complex primary and secondary structure. 193 nm UVPD, specifically, enables extensive covalent fragmentation of the peptide backbone without the requirement of a specific side chain chromophore and with no precursor charge state dependence. We have modified a commercial quadrupole-ion mobility-time-of-flight (Q-IM-TOF) mass spectrometer to include 193 nm UVPD following ion mobility. Ion mobility (IM) is a gas-phase separation technique that enables separation of ions by their size, shape, and charge, providing an orthogonal dimension of separation to mass analysis. Following instrument modifications, we characterized the performance of, and information that could be generated from, this new setup using the model peptides substance P, melittin, and insulin chain B. These experiments show extensive fragmentation across the peptide backbone and a variety of ion types as expected from 193 nm UVPD. Additionally, y-2 ions (along with complementary a+2 and b+2 ions) N-terminal to proline were observed. Combining the IM separation and mobility gating capabilities with UVPD, we demonstrate the ability to accomplish both mass- and mobility-selection of bradykinin des-Arg9 and des-Arg1 peptides followed by complete sequence characterization by UVPD. The new capabilities of this modified instrument demonstrate the utility of combining IM with UVPD because isobaric species cannot be independently selected with a traditional quadrupole alone.

Higher-order structural characterisation of native proteins and complexes by top-down mass spectrometry

In biology, it can be argued that if the genome contains the script for a cell's life cycle, then the proteome constitutes an ensemble cast of actors that brings these instructions to life. Their interactions with each other, co-factors, ligands, substrates, and so on, are key to understanding nearly any biological process. Mass spectrometry is well established as the method of choice to determine protein primary structure and location of post-translational modifications. In recent years, top-down fragmentation of intact proteins has been increasingly combined with ionisation of noncovalent assemblies under non-denaturing conditions, i.e., native mass spectrometry. Sequence, post-translational modifications, ligand/metal binding, protein folding, and complex stoichiometry can thus all be probed directly. Here, we review recent developments in this new and exciting field of research. While this work is written primarily from a mass spectrometry perspective, it is targeted to all bioanalytical scientists who are interested in applying these methods to their own biochemistry and chemical biology research.

Ultraviolet Photodissociation of Tryptic Peptide Backbones at 213 nm

We analyzed the backbone fragmentation behavior of tryptic peptides of a four-protein mixture and of E. coli lysate subjected to ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) at 213 nm on a commercially available UVPD-equipped tribrid mass spectrometer. We obtained 15 178 unique high-confidence peptide UVPD spectrum matches by recording a reference beam-type collision-induced dissociation (HCD) spectrum of each precursor, ensuring that our investigation includes a broad selection of peptides, including those that fragmented poorly by UVPD. Type a, b, and y ions were most prominent in UVPD spectra, and median sequence coverage ranged from 5.8% (at 5 ms laser excitation time) to 45.0% (at 100 ms). Overall, the sequence fragment intensity remained relatively low (median: 0.4% (5 ms) to 16.8% (100 ms) of total intensity), and the remaining precursor intensity, high. The sequence coverage and sequence fragment intensity ratio correlated with the precursor charge density, suggesting that UVPD at 213 nm may suffer from newly formed fragments sticking together due to noncovalent interactions. The UVPD fragmentation efficiency therefore might benefit from supplemental activation, as was shown for ETD. Aromatic amino acids, most prominently tryptophan, facilitated UVPD. This points to aromatic tags as possible enhancers of UVPD. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD018176 and on spectrumviewer.org/db/UVPD-213nm-trypPep.

Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of Biological Molecules

The development of new ion-activation/dissociation methods continues to be one of the most active areas of mass spectrometry owing to the broad applications of tandem mass spectrometry in the identification and structural characterization of molecules. This Review will showcase the impact of ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) as a frontier strategy for generating informative fragmentation patterns of ions, especially for biological molecules whose complicated structures, subtle modifications, and large sizes often impede molecular characterization. UVPD energizes ions via absorption of high-energy photons, which allows access to new dissociation pathways relative to more conventional ion-activation methods. Applications of UVPD for the analysis of peptides, proteins, lipids, and other classes of biologically relevant molecules are emphasized in this Review.

Thorough Performance Evaluation of 213 nm Ultraviolet Photodissociation for Top-down Proteomics

Top-down proteomics studies intact proteoform mixtures and offers important advantages over more common bottom-up proteomics technologies, as it avoids the protein inference problem. However, achieving complete molecular characterization of investigated proteoforms using existing technologies remains a fundamental challenge for top-down proteomics. Here, we benchmark the performance of ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) using 213 nm photons generated by a solid-state laser applied to the study of intact proteoforms from three organisms. Notably, the described UVPD setup applies multiple laser pulses to induce ion dissociation, and this feature can be used to optimize the fragmentation outcome based on the molecular weight of the analyzed biomolecule. When applied to complex proteoform mixtures in high-throughput top-down proteomics, 213 nm UVPD demonstrated a high degree of complementarity with the most employed fragmentation method in proteomics studies, higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD). UVPD at 213 nm offered higher average proteoform sequence coverage and degree of proteoform characterization (including localization of post-translational modifications) than HCD. However, previous studies have shown limitations in applying database search strategies developed for HCD fragmentation to UVPD spectra which contains up to nine fragment ion types. We therefore performed an analysis of the different UVPD product ion type frequencies. From these data, we developed an ad hoc fragment matching strategy and determined the influence of each possible ion type on search outcomes. By paring down the number of ion types considered in high-throughput UVPD searches from all types down to the four most abundant, we were ultimately able to achieve deeper proteome characterization with UVPD. Lastly, our detailed product ion analysis also revealed UVPD cleavage propensities and determined the presence of a product ion produced specifically by 213 nm photons. All together, these observations could be used to better elucidate UVPD dissociation mechanisms and improve the utility of the technique for proteomic applications.

Charge Movement and Structural Changes in the Gas-Phase Unfolding of Multimeric Protein Complexes Captured by Native Top-Down Mass Spectrometry

The extent to which noncovalent protein complexes retain native structure in the gas phase is highly dependent on experimental conditions. Energetic collisions with background gas can cause structural changes ranging from unfolding to subunit dissociation. Additionally, recent studies have highlighted the role of charge in such structural changes, but the mechanism is not completely understood. In this study, native top down (native TD) mass spectrometry was used to probe gas-phase structural changes of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, 4mer) under varying degrees of in-source activation. Changes in covalent backbone fragments produced by electron capture dissociation (ECD) or 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) were attributed to structural changes of the ADH 4mer. ECD fragments indicated unfolding started at the N-terminus, and the charge states of UVPD fragments enabled monitoring of charge migration to the unfolded regions. Interestingly, UVPD fragments also indicated that the charge at the "unfolding" N-terminus of ADH decreased at high in-source activation energies after the initial increase. We proposed a possible "refolding-after-unfolding" mechanism, as further supported by monitoring hydrogen elimination from radical a-ions produced by UVPD at the N-terminus of ADH. However, "refolding-after-unfolding" with increasing in-source activation was not observed for charge-reduced ADH, which likely adopted compact structures that are resistant to both charge migration and unfolding. When combined, these results support a charge-directed unfolding mechanism for protein complexes. Overall, an experimental framework was outlined for utilizing native TD to generate structure-informative mass spectral signatures for protein complexes that complement other structure characterization techniques, such as ion mobility and computational modeling.

Initial Protein Unfolding Events in Ubiquitin, Cytochrome c and Myoglobin Are Revealed with the Use of 213 nm UVPD Coupled to IM-MS

The initial stages of protein unfolding may reflect the stability of the entire fold and can also reveal which parts of a protein can be perturbed, without restructuring the rest. In this work, we couple UVPD with activated ion mobility mass spectrometry to measure how three model proteins start to unfold. Ubiquitin, cytochrome c and myoglobin ions produced via nESI from salty solutions are subjected to UV irradiation pre-mobility separation; experiments are conducted with a range of source conditions which alter the conformation of the precursor ion as shown by the drift time profiles. For all three proteins, the compact structures result in less fragmentation than more extended structures which emerge following progressive in-source activation. Cleavage sites are found to differ between conformational ensembles, for example, for the dominant charge state of cytochrome c [M + 7H]⁷⁺, cleavage at Phe10, Thr19 and Val20 was only observed in activating conditions whilst cleavage at Ala43 is dramatically enhanced. Mapping the photo-cleaved fragments onto crystallographic structures provides insight into the local structural changes that occur as protein unfolding progresses, which is coupled to global restructuring observed in the drift time profiles. Graphical Abstract.

Simplified identification of disulfide, trisulfide, and thioether pairs with 213 nm UVPD

Disulfide heterogeneity and other non-native crosslinks introduced during therapeutic antibody production and storage could have considerable negative effects on clinical efficacy, but tracking these modifications remains challenging. Analysis must also be carried out cautiously to avoid introduction of disulfide scrambling or reduction, necessitating the use of low pH digestion with less specific proteases. Herein we demonstrate that 213 nm ultraviolet photodissociation streamlines disulfide elucidation through bond-selective dissociation of sulfur-sulfur and carbon-sulfur bonds in combination with less specific backbone dissociation. Importantly, both types of fragmentation can be initiated in a single MS/MS activation stage. In addition to disulfide mapping, it is also shown that thioethers and trisulfides can be identified by characteristic fragmentation patterns. The photochemistry resulting from 213 nm excitation facilitates a simplified, two-tiered data processing approach that allows observation of all native disulfide bonds, scrambled disulfide bonds, and non-native sulfur-based linkages in a pepsin digest of Rituximab. Native disulfides represented the majority of bonds according to ion count, but the highly solvent-exposed heavy/light interchain disulfides were found to be most prone to modification. Production and storage methods that facilitate non-native links are discussed. Due to the importance of heavy and light chain connectivity for antibody structure and function, this region likely requires particular attention in terms of its influence on maintaining structural fidelity.

Directed-Backbone Dissociation Following Bond-Specific Carbon-Sulfur UVPD at 213 nm

Ultraviolet photodissociation or UVPD is an increasingly popular option for tandem-mass spectrometry experiments. UVPD can be carried out at many wavelengths, and it is important to understand how the results will be impacted by this choice. Here, we explore the utility of 213 nm photons for initiating bond-selective fragmentation. It is found that bonds previously determined to be labile at 266 nm, including carbon-iodine and sulfur-sulfur bonds, can also be cleaved with high selectivity at 213 nm. In addition, many carbon-sulfur bonds that are not subject to direct dissociation at 266 nm can be selectively fragmented at 213 nm. This capability can be used to site-specifically create alaninyl radicals that direct backbone dissociation at the radical site, creating diagnostic d-ions. Furthermore, the additional carbon-sulfur bond fragmentation capability leads to signature triplets for fragmentation of disulfide bonds. Absorption of amide bonds can enhance dissociation of nearby labile carbon-sulfur bonds and can be used for stochastic backbone fragmentation typical of UVPD experiments at shorter wavelengths. Several potential applications of the bond-selective fragmentation chemistry observed at 213 nm are discussed. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Unraveling Photodimerization of Cyclohexasilane from Molecular Dynamics Studies

Photoinduced reactions of a pair of cyclohexasilane (CHS) monomers are explored by time-dependent excited-state molecular dynamics (TDESMD) calculations. In TDESMD trajectories, one observes vivid reaction events including dimerization and fragmentation. A general reaction pathway is identified as (i) ring-opening formation of a dimer, (ii) rearrangement induced by bond breaking, and (iii) decomposition through the elimination of small fragments. The identified pathway supports the chemistry proposed for the fabrication of silicon-based materials using CHS as a precursor. In addition, we find dimers have smaller HOMO-LUMO gaps and exhibit a red shift and line-width broadening in the computed photoluminescence spectra compared with a pair of CHS monomers.

Implementation of Fragment Ion Protection (FIP) during Ultraviolet Photodissociation (UVPD) Mass Spectrometry

Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) is a nonselective activation method in which both precursor and fragment ions may absorb photons and dissociate. Photoactivation of fragment ions may result in secondary or multiple generations of dissociation, which decreases the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of larger fragment ions owing to the prevalent subdivision of the ion current into many smaller, often less informative, fragment ions. Here we report the use of dipolar excitation waveforms to displace fragment ions out of the laser beam path, thus alleviating the extent of secondary dissociation during 193 nm UVPD. This fragment ion protection (FIP) strategy increases S/N of larger fragment ions and improves the sequence coverage obtained for proteins via retaining information deeper into the midsection of protein sequences.

Characterization of hydrogen bonding motifs in proteins: hydrogen elimination monitoring by ultraviolet photodissociation mass spectrometry

Determination of structure and folding of certain classes of proteins remains intractable by conventional structural characterization strategies and has spurred the development of alternative methodologies. Mass spectrometry-based approaches have a unique capacity to differentiate protein heterogeneity due to the ability to discriminate populations, whether minor or major, featuring modifications or complexation with non-covalent ligands on the basis of m/z. Cleavage of the peptide backbone can be further utilized to obtain residue-specific structural information. Here, hydrogen elimination monitoring (HEM) upon ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) of proteins transferred to the gas phase via nativespray ionization is introduced as an innovative approach to deduce backbone hydrogen bonding patterns. Using well-characterized peptides and a series of proteins, prediction of the engagement of the amide carbonyl oxygen of the protein backbone in hydrogen bonding using UVPD-HEM is demonstrated to show significant agreement with the hydrogen-bonding motifs derived from molecular dynamics simulations and X-ray crystal structures.

Ultraviolet, Infrared, and High-Low Energy Photodissociation of Post-Translationally Modified Peptides

Mass spectrometry-based methods have made significant progress in characterizing post-translational modifications in peptides and proteins; however, certain aspects regarding fragmentation methods must still be improved. A good technique is expected to provide excellent sequence information, locate PTM sites, and retain the labile PTM groups. To address these issues, we investigate 10.6 μm IRMPD, 213 nm UVPD, and combined UV and IR photodissociation, known as HiLoPD (high-low photodissociation), for phospho-, sulfo-, and glyco-peptide cations. IRMPD shows excellent backbone fragmentation and produces equal numbers of N- and C-terminal ions. The results reveal that 213 nm UVPD and HiLoPD methods can provide diverse backbone fragmentation producing a/x, b/y, and c/z ions with excellent sequence coverage, locate PTM sites, and offer reasonable retention efficiency for phospho- and glyco-peptides. Excellent sequence coverage is achieved for sulfo-peptides and the position of the SO₃ group can be pinpointed; however, widespread SO₃ losses are detected irrespective of the methods used herein. Based on the overall performance achieved, we believe that 213 nm UVPD and HiLoPD can serve as alternative options to collision activation and electron transfer dissociations for phospho- and glyco-proteomics. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Effects of wavelength, fluence, and dose on fragmentation pathways and photoproduct ion yield in 213 nm and 266 nm ultraviolet photodissociation experiments

Ultraviolet photodissociation tandem mass spectrometry is a powerful tool to investigate the structure of biomolecules, due to its ability to generate rich fragmentation patterns or bond selective cleavage, as a function of used laser wavelength, laser fluence, dose (number of accumulated laser pulses), and available chromophores. Herein, we report first results obtained with a newly developed two-wavelength (266 nm and 213 nm) ultraviolet photodissociation setup coupled to a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Photoproduct yields for protonated 3-iodo-l-tyrosine were up to ∼75%. Dose and fluence dependent measurements for protonated 3-iodo-l-tyrosine, doubly charged protonated bradykinin and Fe(II) attached to 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine reveal that the ultraviolet photodissociation mechanism for photoproduct formation qualitatively differs between these model systems. Three derived photodissociation models were used to interpret the experimental results and show that while protonated 3-iodo-l-tyrosine and Fe(II) attached to 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine most likely dissociates via a single-photon process, fragmentation of doubly charged bradykinin ions was found to be most consistent with sequential two-photon dissociation (213 nm). The introduced dissociation models present an easy means to study the mechanism of ultraviolet photodissociation processes for a variety of analytes without prior knowledge of their photochemistry or to optimize experimental conditions by adjusting laser fluence or number of laser pulses.

The Mechanism Behind Top-Down UVPD Experiments: Making Sense of Apparent Contradictions

Top-down ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) allows greater sequence coverage than any other currently available method, often fracturing the vast majority of peptide bonds in whole proteins. At the same time, UVPD can be used to dissociate noncovalent complexes assembled from multiple proteins without breaking any covalent bonds. Although the utility of these experiments is unquestioned, the mechanism underlying these seemingly contradictory results has been the subject of many discussions. Herein, some fundamental considerations of photochemistry are briefly summarized within the context of a proposed mechanism that rationalizes the experimental results obtained by UVPD. Considerations for future instrument design, in terms of wavelength choice and power, are briefly discussed. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Middle-Down 193-nm Ultraviolet Photodissociation for Unambiguous Antibody Identification and its Implications for Immunoproteomic Analysis

Mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a powerful tool within the growing field of immunoproteomics, which aims to understand antibody-mediated immunity at the molecular-level based on the direct determination of serological antibody repertoire. To date, these methods have relied on the use of high-resolution bottom-up proteomic strategies that require effective sampling and characterization of low abundance peptides derived from the antigen-binding domains of polyclonal antibody mixtures. Herein, we describe a method that uses restricted Lys-C enzymatic digestion to increase the average mass of proteolytic IgG peptides (≥4.5 kDa) and produce peptides which uniquely derive from single antibody species. This enhances the capacity to discriminate between very similar antibodies present within polyclonal mixtures. Furthermore, our use of 193-nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) improves spectral coverage of the antibody sequence relative to conventional collision- and electron-based fragmentation methods. We apply these methods to both a monoclonal and an antibody mixture. By identifying from a database search of approximately 15 000 antibody sequences those which compose the mixture, we demonstrate the analytical potential of middle-down UVPD for MS-based serological repertoire analysis.

Single-photon absorption of isolated collagen mimetic peptides and triple-helix models in the VUV-X energy range

By monitoring ionization and fragmentation after single-photon absorption, we show that an isolated collagen triple helix model is stabilized by proline hydroxylation.

Improving Performance Metrics of Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry by Selective Precursor Ejection

Confident protein identifications derived from high-throughput bottom-up and top-down proteomics workflows depend on acquisition of thousands of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) spectra with adequate signal-to-noise and accurate mass assignments of the fragment ions. Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) using 193 nm photons has proven to be well-suited for activation and fragmentation of peptides and proteins in ion trap mass spectrometers, but the spectral signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is typically lower than that obtained from collisional activation methods. The lower S/N is attributed to the dispersion of ion current among numerous fragment ion channels (a,b,c,x,y,z ions). In addition, frequently UVPD is performed such that a relatively large population of precursor ions remains undissociated after the UV photoactivation period in order to prevent overdissociation into small uninformative or internal fragment ions. Here we report a method to improve spectral S/N and increase the accuracy of mass assignments of UVPD mass spectra via resonance ejection of undissociated precursor ions after photoactivation. This strategy, termed precursor ejection UVPD or PE-UVPD, allows the ion trap to be filled with more ions prior to UVPD while at the same time alleviating the space charge problems that would otherwise contribute to the skewing of mass assignments and reduction of S/N. Here we report the performance gains by implementation of PE-UVPD for peptide analysis in an ion trap mass spectrometer.

Ultraviolet Photodissociation Induced by Light-Emitting Diodes in a Planar Ion Trap

The first application of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) mass spectrometry is reported. LEDs provide a compact, low cost light source and have been incorporated directly into the trapping cell of an Orbitrap mass spectrometer. MS/MS efficiencies of over 50 % were obtained using an extended irradiation period, and UVPD was optimized by modulating the ion trapping parameters to maximize the overlap between the ion cloud and the irradiation volume.

Combined Infrared Multiphoton Dissociation with Ultraviolet Photodissociation for Ubiquitin Characterization

Herein we report the successful implementation of the consecutive and simultaneous photodissociation with high (213 nm) and low (10.6 μm) energy photons (HiLoPD, high-low photodissociation) on ubiquitin in a quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Absorption of high-energy UV photon is dispersed over the whole protein and stimulates extensive C-Cα backbone fragmentation, whereas low-energy IR photon gradually increases the internal energy and thus preferentially dissociates the most labile amide (C-N) bonds. We noticed that simultaneous irradiation of UV and IR lasers on intact ubiquitin in a single MS/MS experiment provides a rich and well-balanced fragmentation array of a/x, b/y, and z ions. Moreover, secondary fragmentation from a/x and z ions leads to the formation of satellite side-chain ions (d, v, and w) and can help to distinguish isomeric residues in a protein. Implementation of high-low photodissociation in a high-resolution mass spectrometer may offer considerable benefits to promote a comprehensive portrait of protein characterization. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

193 nm Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry of Tetrameric Protein Complexes Provides Insight into Quaternary and Secondary Protein Topology

Protein-protein interfaces and architecture are critical to the function of multiprotein complexes. Mass spectrometry-based techniques have emerged as powerful strategies for characterization of protein complexes, particularly for heterogeneous mixtures of structures. In the present study, activation and dissociation of three tetrameric protein complexes (streptavidin, transthyretin, and hemoglobin) in the gas phase was undertaken by 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) for the characterization of higher order structure. High pulse energy UVPD resulted in the production of dimers and low charged monomers exhibiting symmetrical charge partitioning among the subunits (the so-called symmetrical dissociation pathways), consistent with the subunit organization of the complexes. In addition, UVPD promoted backbone cleavages of the monomeric subunits, the abundances of which corresponded to the more flexible loop regions of the proteins.

213 nm Ultraviolet Photodissociation on Peptide Anions: Radical-Directed Fragmentation Patterns

Characterization of acidic peptides and proteins is greatly hindered due to lack of suitable analytical techniques. Here we present the implementation of 213 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) in high-resolution quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer in negative polarity for peptide anions. Radical-driven backbone fragmentation provides 22 distinctive fragment ion types, achieving the complete sequence coverage for all reported peptides. Hydrogen-deficient radical anion not only promotes the cleavage of Cα-C bond but also stimulates the breaking of N-Cα and C-N bonds. Radical-directed loss of small molecules and specific side chain of amino acids are detected in these experiments. Radical containing side chain of amino acids (Tyr, Ser, Thr, and Asp) may possibly support the N-Cα backbone fragmentation. Proline comprising peptides exhibit the unusual fragment ions similar to reported earlier. Interestingly, basic amino acids such as Arg and Lys also stimulated the formation of abundant b and y ions of the related peptide anions. Loss of hydrogen atom from the charge-reduced radical anion and fragment ions are rationalized by time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculation, locating the potential energy surface (PES) of ππ* and repulsive πσ* excited states of a model amide system.