Ultrasensitive identification of localization variants of modified peptides using ion mobility spectrometry

Separation of Isomeric Tau Phosphopeptides from Alzheimer's Disease Brain by Cyclic Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of increasing concern. It belongs to diseases termed tauopathies which are characterized by inclusions of abnormally hyperphosphorylated and truncated forms of the protein tau. Studies of tauopathies often focus on detection and characterization of these aberrant tau proteoforms, in particular the phosphorylation sites, which represent a significant analytical challenge for example when several phosphosites can be present on the same peptide. Such isomers can even be difficult to fully separate chromatographically. Since recently introduced cyclic ion mobility-mass spectrometry can offer different selectivity, we have investigated the closely positioned phosphorylation sites S214, T212, and T217 of a tryptic peptide from proline rich region of tau-TPSLPTPPTREPK. The conformational heterogeneity of the isomeric peptides in the gas phase hindered their separation due to their overlapping arrival time distributions. Increasing the resolution of the analysis alone is insufficient to distinguish the peptides in a mixture typical of patient samples. We therefore developed a method based on a combination of collision-induced dissociation, isomeric product ions (m/z 677) mobility separation and post-mobility dissociation to aid in analyzing the isomeric phosphopeptides of tau in diseased brain extract. For all three isomers (T212, S214, and T217), the ion mobility signal of the ion at m/z 677 was still observable at the concentration of 0.1 nmol/L. This work not only offers insights into the phosphorylation of tau protein in AD but also provides an analytical workflow for the characterization of challenging pathological protein modifications in neurodegenerative diseases.

Composite Multidimensional Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry for Improved Differentiation of Stereochemical Modifications

Stereochemical modifications (SCMs), mostly present in the form of d-amino acid substitution, have been increasingly identified from a wide range of neuropeptides and disease-associated biomarker proteins. Traditional mass spectrometry-based SCM identification has been effectively enhanced with technological and strategic advancements in ion mobility spectrometry. With the additional separation provided by ion mobility, SCM-induced structural changes can be probed both in theory and in practice, although the structural resolution for low-abundance SCMs still requires further improvement to enable accurate quantification or unambiguous identification of stereoisomers. Herein, we present a multi-component-enabled multidimensional ion mobility-mass spectrometry (3M-IM-MS) analytical workflow, based upon the metal-enhanced chiral amplification strategy we proposed previously (Nat. Commun., 2019, 5038). Notably, the 3M-IM-MS strategy comprises and features the powerful mathematical tools of continuous wavelet transform and Gaussian fitting-enabled peak splitting. Consequently, the resolving capability of ion mobility spectrometry for SCM analysis has been significantly enhanced, providing mobility profiles with baseline separation and more than fivefold improvement in resolving power and overall resolution. This study represents an alternative toward ultrahigh-resolution structural interrogation of mixtures with very small differences, featuring an important and long-lasting topic in chemical measurement.

Identification of Mobility-Resolved N-Glycan Isomers

Glycan analysis has evolved considerably during the last decade. The advent of high-resolution ion-mobility spectrometry has enabled the separation of isomers with only the slightest of structural differences. However, the ability to separate such species raises the problem of identifying all the mobility-resolved peaks that are observed, especially when analytical standards are not available. In this work, we report an approach based on the combination of IMSⁿ with cryogenic vibrational spectroscopy to identify N-glycan reducing-end anomers. By identifying the reducing-end α and β anomers of diacetyl-chitobiose, which is a disaccharide that forms part of the common core of all N-glycans, we are able to assign mobility peaks to reducing anomers of a selection of N-glycans of different sizes, starting from trisaccharides such as Man-1 up to glycans containing nine monosaccharide units, such as G2. By building an infrared fingerprint database of the identified N-glycans, our approach allows unambiguous identification of mobility peaks corresponding to reducing-end anomers and distinguishes them from positional isomers that might be present in a complex mixture.

Mass Spectrometry as a Crucial Analytical Basis for Omics Sciences

This review is devoted to the consideration of mass spectrometric platforms as applied to omics sciences. The most significant attention is paid to omics related to life sciences (genomics, proteomics, meta-bolomics, lipidomics, glycomics, plantomics, etc.). Mass spectrometric approaches to solving the problems of petroleomics, polymeromics, foodomics, humeomics, and exosomics, related to inorganic sciences, are also discussed. The review comparatively presents the advantages of various principles of separation and mass spectral techniques, complementary derivatization, used to obtain large arrays of various structural and quantitative information in the mentioned omics sciences.

The challenges of peptidomics in complementing proteomics in a clinical context

Naturally occurring peptides, including growth factors, hormones, and neurotransmitters, represent an important class of biomolecules and have crucial roles in human physiology. The study of these peptides in clinical samples is therefore as relevant as ever. Compared to more routine proteomics applications in clinical research, peptidomics research questions are more challenging and have special requirements with regard to sample handling, experimental design, and bioinformatics. In this review, we describe the issues that confront peptidomics in a clinical context. After these hurdles are (partially) overcome, peptidomics will be ready for a successful translation into medical practice.

Improved Sensitivity and Separations for Phosphopeptides using Online Liquid Chromotography Coupled with Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry

Phosphoproteomics greatly augments proteomics and holds tremendous potential for insights into the modulation of biological systems for various disease states. However, numerous challenges hinder conventional methods in terms of measurement sensitivity, throughput, quantification, and capabilities for confident phosphopeptide and phosphosite identification. In this work, we report the first example of integrating structures for lossless ion manipulations ion mobility-mass spectrometry (SLIM IM-MS) with online reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) to evaluate its potential for addressing the aforementioned challenges. A mixture of 51 heavy-labeled phosphopeptides was analyzed with a SLIM IM module having integrated ion accumulation and long-path separation regions. The SLIM IM-MS provided limits of detection as low as 50-100 pM (50-100 amol/μL) for several phosphopeptides, with the potential for significant further improvements. In addition, conventionally problematic phosphopeptide isomers could be resolved following an 18 m SLIM IM separation. The 2-D LC-IM peak capacity was estimated as ∼9000 for a 90 min LC separation coupled to an 18 m SLIM IM separation, considerably higher than LC alone and providing a basis for both improved identification and quantification, with additional gains projected with the future use of longer path SLIM IM separations. Thus, LC-SLIM IM-MS offers great potential for improving the sensitivity, separation, and throughput of phosphoproteomics analyses.

Linear and Differential Ion Mobility Separations of Middle-Down Proteoforms

Comprehensive characterization of proteomes comprising the same proteins with distinct post-translational modifications (PTMs) is a staggering challenge. Many such proteoforms are isomers (localization variants) that require separation followed by top-down or middle-down mass spectrometric analyses, but condensed-phase separations are ineffective in those size ranges. The variants for "middle-down" peptides were resolved by differential ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), relying on the mobility increment at high electric fields, but not previously by linear IMS on the basis of absolute mobility. We now use complete histone tails with diverse PTMs on alternative sites to demonstrate that high-resolution linear IMS, here trapped IMS (TIMS), broadly resolves the variants of ∼50 residues in full or into binary mixtures quantifiable by tandem MS, largely thanks to orthogonal separations across charge states. Separations using traveling-wave (TWIMS) and/or involving various time scales and electrospray ionization source conditions are similar (with lower resolution for TWIMS), showing the transferability of results across linear IMS instruments. The linear IMS and FAIMS dimensions are substantially orthogonal, suggesting FAIMS/IMS/MS as a powerful platform for proteoform analyses.

Broadband ion mobility deconvolution for rapid analysis of complex mixtures

Broadband IM-MS deconvolution allows generation of IM and MS data for species that are UPLC-IM-MS unresolved.

Fast and Effective Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Separation of d-Amino-Acid-Containing Peptides

Despite often minute concentrations in vivo, d-amino acid containing peptides (DAACPs) are crucial to many life processes. Standard proteomics protocols fail to detect them as d/l substitutions do not affect the peptide parent and fragment masses. The differences in fragment yields are often limited, obstructing the investigations of important but low abundance epimers in isomeric mixtures. Separation of d/l-peptides using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) was impeded by small collision cross section differences (commonly ∼1%). Here, broad baseline separation of DAACPs with up to ∼30 residues employing trapped IMS with resolving power up to ∼340, followed by time-of-flight mass spectrometry is demonstrated. The d/l-pairs coeluting in one charge state were resolved in another, and epimers merged as protonated species were resolved upon metalation, effectively turning the charge state and cationization mode into extra separation dimensions. Linear quantification down to 0.25% proved the utility of high resolution IMS-MS for real samples with large interisomeric dynamic range. Very close relative mobilities found for DAACP pairs using traveling-wave IMS (TWIMS) with different ion sources and faster IMS separations showed the transferability of results across IMS platforms. Fragmentation of epimers can enhance their identification and further improve detection and quantification limits, and we demonstrate the advantages of online mobility separated collision-induced dissociation (CID) followed by high resolution mass spectrometry (TIMS-CID-MS) for epimer analysis.

The Peptidome Comes of Age: Mass Spectrometry-Based Characterization of the Circulating Cancer Peptidome

Peptides play a seminal role in most physiological processes acting as neurotransmitters, hormones, antibiotics, and immune regulation. In the context of tumor biology, it is hypothesized that endogenous peptides, hormones, cytokines, growth factors, and aberrant degradation of select protein networks (e.g., enzymatic activities, protein shedding, and extracellular matrix remodeling) are fundamental in mediating cancer progression. Analysis of peptides in biological fluids by mass spectrometry holds promise of providing sensitive and specific diagnostic and prognostic information for cancer and other diseases. The identification of circulating peptides in the context of disease constitutes a hitherto source of new clinical biomarkers. The field of peptidomics can be defined as the identification and comprehensive analysis of physiological and pathological peptides. Like proteomics, peptidomics has been advanced by the development of new separation strategies, analytical detection methods such as mass spectrometry, and bioinformatic technologies. Unlike proteomics, peptidomics is targeted toward identifying endogenous protein and peptide fragments, defining proteolytic enzyme substrate specificity, as well as protease cleavage recognition (degradome). Peptidomics employs "top-down proteomics" strategies where mass spectrometry is applied at the proteoform level to analyze intact proteins and large endogenous peptide fragments. With recent advances in prefractionation workflows for separating peptides, mass spectrometry instrumentation, and informatics, peptidomics is an important field that promises to impact on translational medicine. This review covers the current advances in peptidomics, including top-down and imaging mass spectrometry, comprehensive quantitative peptidome analyses (developments in reproducibility and coverage), peptide prefractionation and enrichment workflows, peptidomic data analyses, and informatic tools. The application of peptidomics in cancer biomarker discovery will be discussed.

Distinguishing d- and l-aspartic and isoaspartic acids in amyloid β peptides with ultrahigh resolution ion mobility spectrometry

While α-linked amino acids in the l-form are exclusively utilized in mammalian protein building, β-linked and d-form amino acids also have important biological roles. Unfortunately, the structural elucidation and separation of these different amino acid types in peptides has been analytically challenging to date due to the numerous isomers present, limiting our knowledge about their existence and biological roles. Here, we utilized an ultrahigh resolution ion mobility spectrometry platform coupled with mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) to separate amyloid β (Aβ) peptides containing l-aspartic acid, d-aspartic acid, l-isoaspartic acid, and d-isoaspartic acid residues which span α- and β-linked amino acids in both d- and l-forms. The results illustrate how IMS-MS could be used to better understand age-related diseases or protein folding disorders resulting from amino acid modifications.

Characterization of Complete Histone Tail Proteoforms Using Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Histone proteins are subject to dynamic post-translational modifications (PTMs) that cooperatively modulate the chromatin structure and function. Nearly all functional PTMs are found on the N-terminal histone domains (tails) of ∼50 residues protruding from the nucleosome core. Using high-definition differential ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) with electron transfer dissociation, we demonstrate rapid baseline gas-phase separation and identification of tails involving monomethylation, trimethylation, acetylation, or phosphorylation in biologically relevant positions. These are by far the largest variant peptides resolved by any method, some with PTM contributing just 0.25% to the mass. This opens the door to similar separations for intact proteins and in top-down proteomics.

A Priori Intrinsic PTM Size Parameters for Predicting the Ion Mobilities of Modified Peptides

The rising profile of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) in proteomics has driven the efforts to predict peptide cross-sections. In the simplest approach, these are derived by adding the contributions of all amino acid residues and post-translational modifications (PTMs) defined by their intrinsic size parameters (ISPs). We show that the ISPs for PTMs can be calculated from properties of constituent atoms, and introduce the "impact scores" that govern the shift of cross-sections from the central mass-dependent trend for unmodified peptides. The ISPs and scores tabulated for 100 more common PTMs enable predicting the domains for modified peptides in the IMS/MS space that would guide subproteome investigations. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Localization of Post-Translational Modifications in Peptide Mixtures via High-Resolution Differential Ion Mobility Separations Followed by Electron Transfer Dissociation

Precise localization of post-translational modifications (PTMs) on proteins and peptides is an outstanding challenge in proteomics. While electron transfer dissociation (ETD) has dramatically advanced PTM analyses, mixtures of localization variants that commonly coexist in cells often require prior separation. Although differential or field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) achieves broad variant resolution, the need for standards to identify the features has limited the utility of approach. Here we demonstrate full a priori characterization of variant mixtures by high-resolution FAIMS coupled to ETD and the procedures to systematically extract the FAIMS spectra for all variants from such data. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Ion Mobility Separations of Isomers based upon Long Path Length Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations Combined with Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based multi-omic measurements, including proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, and glycomics, are increasingly transforming our ability to characterize and understand biological systems. Multi-omic analyses and the desire for comprehensive measurement coverage presently have limitations due to the chemical diversity and range of abundances of biomolecules in complex samples. Advances addressing these challenges increasingly are based upon the ability to quickly separate, react and otherwise manipulate sample components for analysis by MS. Here we report on a new approach using Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations (SLIM) to enable long serpentine path ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) separations followed by MS analyses. This approach provides previously unachieved resolution for biomolecular species, in conjunction with more effective ion utilization, and a basis for greatly improved characterization of very small sample sizes.

Spatial Ion Peak Compression and its Utility in Ion Mobility Spectrometry

A novel concept for ion spatial peak compression is described, and discussed primarily in the context of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). Using theoretical and numerical methods, the effects of using non-constant (e.g., linearly varying) electric fields on ion distributions (e.g., an ion mobility peak) is evaluated both in the physical and temporal domains. The application of a linearly decreasing electric field in conjunction with conventional drift field arrangements is shown to lead to a reduction in IMS physical peak width. When multiple ion packets (i.e., peaks) in a selected mobility window are simultaneously subjected to such fields, there is ion packet compression (i.e., a reduction in peak widths for all species). This peak compression occurs with only a modest reduction of resolution, which can be quickly recovered as ions drift in a constant field after the compression event. Compression also yields a significant increase in peak intensities. Ion mobility peak compression can be particularly useful for mitigating diffusion-driven peak broadening over very long path length separations (e.g., in cyclic multi-pass arrangements), and for achieving higher S/N and IMS resolution over a selected mobility range. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Examining the Influence of Phosphorylation on Peptide Ion Structure by Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry

Ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) techniques are used to study the general effects of phosphorylation on peptide structure. Cross sections for a library of 66 singly phosphorylated peptide ions from 33 pairs of positional isomers, and unmodified analogues were measured. Intrinsic size parameters (ISPs) derived from these measurements yield calculated collision cross sections for 85% of these phosphopeptide sequences that are within ±2.5% of experimental values. The average ISP for the phosphoryl group (0.64 ± 0.05) suggests that in general this moiety forms intramolecular interactions with the neighboring residues and peptide backbone, resulting in relatively compact structures. We assess the capability of ion mobility to separate positional isomers (i.e., peptide sequences that differ only in the location of the modification) and find that more than half of the isomeric pairs have >1% difference in collision cross section. Phosphorylation is also found to influence populations of structures that differ in the cis/trans orientation of Xaa-Pro peptide bonds. Several sequences with phosphorylated Ser or Thr residues located N-terminally adjacent to Pro residues show fewer conformations compared to the unmodified sequences.

Rapid separation of phosphopeptides by microchip electrophoresis-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Protein phosphorylation is a significant biological process, but separation of phosphorylated peptide isomers is often challenging for many analytical techniques. We developed a microchip electrophoresis (MCE) method for rapid separation of phosphopeptides with on-chip electrospray ionization (ESI) facilitating online sample introduction to the mass spectrometer (MS). With the method, two monophosphorylated positional isomers of insulin receptor peptide (IR1A and IR1B) and a triply phosphorylated insulin receptor peptide (IR3), all with the same amino acid sequence, were separated from the nonphosphorylated peptide (IR0) in less than one minute. For efficient separation of the positional peptide isomers from each other derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl reagents (either chloroformate, Fmoc-Cl, or N-succinimidyl carbonate, Fmoc-OSu) was required before the analysis. The derivatization improved not only the separation of the monophosphorylated positional peptide isomers in MCE, but also identification of the phosphorylation site based on MS/MS.

Current peptidomics: applications, purification, identification, quantification, and functional analysis

Peptidomics is an emerging field branching from proteomics that targets endogenously produced protein fragments. Endogenous peptides are often functional within the body-and can be both beneficial and detrimental. This review covers the use of peptidomics in understanding digestion, and identifying functional peptides and biomarkers. Various techniques for peptide and glycopeptide extraction, both at analytical and preparative scales, and available options for peptide detection with MS are discussed. Current algorithms for peptide sequence determination, and both analytical and computational techniques for quantification are compared. Techniques for statistical analysis, sequence mapping, enzyme prediction, and peptide function, and structure prediction are explored.

Collision-energy resolved ion mobility characterization of isomeric mixtures

Existing instrumental resolving power limitations in ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) often restrict adequate characterization of unresolved or co-eluting chemical isomers.

Automated deconvolution of overlapped ion mobility profiles

Presence of unresolved ion mobility (IM) profiles limits the efficient utilization of IM mass spectrometry (IM-MS) systems for isomer differentiation. Here, we introduce an automated ion mobility deconvolution (AIMD) computer software for streamlined deconvolution of overlapped IM-MS profiles. AIMD is based on a previously reported post-IM/collision-induced dissociation (CID) deconvolution approach [J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 23, 1873 (2012)] and, unlike the previously reported manual approach, it does not require resampling of post-IM/CID data. A novel data preprocessing approach is utilized to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the deconvolution process. Results from AIMD analysis of overlapped IM profiles of data from (1) Waters Synapt G1 for a binary mixture of isomeric peptides (amino acid sequences: GRGDS and SDGRG) and (2) Waters Synapt G2-S for a binary mixture of isomeric trisaccharides (raffinose and isomaltotriose) are presented.

Experimental evaluation and optimization of structures for lossless ion manipulations for ion mobility spectrometry with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

We report on the performance of structures for lossless ion manipulation (SLIM) as a means for transmitting ions and performing ion mobility separations (IMS). Ions were successfully transferred from an electrospray ionization (ESI) source to the TOF MS analyzer by means of a linear SLIM, demonstrating lossless ion transmission and an alternative arrangement including a 90° turn. First, the linear geometry was optimized for radial confinement by tuning RF on the central "rung" electrodes and potentials on the DC-only guard electrodes. Selecting an appropriate DC guard bias (2-6 V) and RF amplitude (≥160 V(p-p) at 750 kHz) resulted in the greatest ion intensities. Close to ideal IMS resolving power was maintained over a significant range of applied voltages. Second, the 90° turn was optimized for radial confinement by tuning RF on the rung electrodes and DC on the guard electrodes. However, both resolving power and ion transmission showed a dependence on these voltages, and the best conditions for both were >300 V(p-p) RF (685 kHz) and 7-11 V guard DC bias. Both geometries provide IMS resolving powers at the theoretical limit (R ~ 58), showing that degraded resolution from a "racetrack" effect from turning around a corner can be successfully avoided, and the capability also was maintained for essentially lossless ion transmission.

Intrinsic Size Parameters for Palmitoylated and Carboxyamidomethylated Peptides

Cross sections for 61 palmitoylated peptides and 73 cysteine-unmodified peptides are determined and used together with a previously obtained tryptic peptide library to derive a set of intrinsic size parameters (ISPs) for the palmitoyl (Pal) group (1.26 ± 0.04), carboxyamidomethyl (Am) group (0.92 ± 0.04), and the 20 amino acid residues to assess the influence of Pal- and Am-modification on cysteine and other amino acid residues. These values highlight the influence of the intrinsic hydrophobic and hydrophilic nature of these modifications on the overall cross sections. As a part of this analysis, we find that ISPs derived from a database of a modifier on one amino acid residue (Cys^Pal) can be applied on the same modification group on different amino acid residues (Ser^Pal and Tyr^Pal). Using these ISP values, we are able to calculate peptide cross sections to within ± 2% of experimental values for 83% of Pal-modified peptide ions and 63% of Am-modified peptide ions. We propose that modification groups should be treated as individual contribution factors, instead of treating the combination of the particular group and the amino acid residue they are on as a whole when considering their effects on the peptide ion mobility features.

Site-specific characterization of (D)-amino acid containing peptide epimers by ion mobility spectrometry

Traditionally, the d-amino acid containing peptide (DAACP) candidate can be discovered by observing the differences of biological activity and chromatographic retention time between the synthetic peptides and naturally occurring peptides. However, it is difficult to determine the exact position of d-amino acid in the DAACP candidates. Herein, we developed a novel site-specific strategy to rapidly and precisely localize d-amino acids in peptides by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) analysis of mass spectrometry (MS)-generated epimeric fragment ions. Briefly, the d/l-peptide epimers were separated by online reversed-phase liquid chromatography and fragmented by collision-induced dissociation (CID), followed by IMS analysis. The epimeric fragment ions resulting from d/l-peptide epimers exhibit conformational differences, thus showing different mobilities in IMS. The arrival time shift between the epimeric fragment ions was used as criteria to localize the d-amino acid substitution. The utility of this strategy was demonstrated by analysis of peptide epimers with different molecular sizes, [d-Trp]-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, [d-Ala]-deltorphin, [d-Phe]-achatin-I, and their counterparts that contain all-l amino acids. Furthermore, the crustacean hyperglycemia hormones (CHHs, 8.5 kDa) were isolated from the American lobster Homarus americanus and identified by integration of MS-based bottom-up and top-down sequencing approaches. The IMS data acquired using our novel site-specific strategy localized the site of isomerization of l- to d-Phe at the third residue of the CHHs from the N-terminus. Collectively, this study demonstrates a new method for discovery of DAACPs using IMS technique with the ability to localize d-amino acid residues.

High-resolution differential ion mobility spectrometry of a protein

Use of elevated electric fields and helium-rich gases has recently enabled differential ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) with a resolving power up to R ∼ 300. Here we applied that technique to a protein (ubiquitin), achieving R up to ∼80 and separating previously unresolved conformers. While still limited by conformational multiplicity, this resolution is some 4 times greater than that previously reported using either conventional (drift-tube or traveling-wave) or differential IMS. The capability for fine resolution of protein conformers may open new avenues for proteoform separations in top-down and intact-protein proteomics.

Separation of variant methylated histone tails by differential ion mobility

Differential ion mobility spectrometry (field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS)) is emerging as a broadly useful tool for separation of isomeric modified peptides with post-translational modifications (PTMs) attached to alternative residues. Such separations were anticipated to become more challenging for smaller PTMs and longer peptides. Here, we show that FAIMS can fully resolve localization variants involving a PTM as minuscule as methylation, even for larger peptides in the middle-down range.

Ion mobility separation of variant histone tails extending to the "middle-down" range

Differential ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) can baseline-resolve multiple variants of post-translationally modified peptides extending to the 3-4 kDa range, which differ in the localization of a PTM as small as acetylation. Essentially orthogonal separations for different charge states expand the total peak capacity with the number of observed states that increases for longer polypeptides. This potentially enables resolving localization variants for yet larger peptides and even intact proteins.

Ion mobility separation of isomeric phosphopeptides from a protein with variant modification of adjacent residues

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), and particularly differential or field asymmetric waveform IMS (FAIMS), was recently shown capable of separating peptides with variant localization of post-translational modifications. However, that work was limited to a model peptide with Ser phosphorylation on fairly distant alternative sites. Here, we demonstrate that FAIMS (coupled to electrospray/mass spectrometry (ESI/MS)) can broadly baseline-resolve variant phosphopeptides from a biologically modified human protein, including those involving phosphorylation of different residues and adjacent sites that challenge existing tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) methods most. Singly and doubly phosphorylated variants can be resolved equally well and identified without dissociation, based on accurate separation properties. The spectra change little over a range of infusion solvent pH; hence, the present approach should be viable in conjunction with chromatographic separations using mobile phase gradients.