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Luan M, Hou Z, Zhang B, Ma L, Yuan S, Liu Y, Huang G. Inter-Domain Repulsion of Dumbbell-Shaped Calmodulin during Electrospray Ionization Revealed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Anal Chem 2023; 95:8798-8806. [PMID: 37309130 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms whereby protein ions are released from nanodroplets at the liquid-gas interface have continued to be controversial since electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry was widely applied in biomolecular structure analysis in solution. Several viable pathways have been proposed and verified for single-domain proteins. However, the ESI mechanism of multi-domain proteins with more complicated and flexible structures remains unclear. Herein, dumbbell-shaped calmodulin was chosen as a multi-domain protein model to perform molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the structural evolution during the ESI process. For [Ca4CAM], the protein followed the classical charge residue model. As the inter-domain electrostatic repulsion increased, the droplet was found to split into two sub-droplets, while stronger-repulsive apo-calmodulin unfolded during the early evaporation stage. We designated this novel ESI mechanism as the domain repulsion model, which provides new mechanistic insights into further exploration of proteins containing more domains. Our results suggest that greater attention should be paid to the effect of domain-domain interactions on structure retention during liquid-gas interface transfer when mass spectrometry is used as the developing technique in gas phase structural biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moujun Luan
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Zhuanghao Hou
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Buchun Zhang
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
| | - Likun Ma
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
| | - Siming Yuan
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
| | - Yangzhong Liu
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
| | - Guangming Huang
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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2
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Wang B, Tieleman DP. Release of nanodiscs from charged nano-droplets in the electrospray ionization revealed by molecular dynamics simulations. Commun Chem 2023; 6:21. [PMID: 36717705 PMCID: PMC9886951 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-00818-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Electrospray ionization (ESI) is essential for application of mass spectrometry in biological systems, as it prevents the analyte being split into fragments. However, due to lack of a clear understanding of the mechanism of ESI, the interpretation of mass spectra is often ambiguous. This is a particular challenge for complex biological systems. Here, we focus on systems that include nanodiscs as membrane environment, which are essential for membrane proteins. We performed microsecond atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to study the release of nanodiscs from highly charged nano-droplets into the gas phase, the late stage of ESI. We observed two distinct major scenarios, highlighting the diversity of morphologies of gaseous product ions. Our simulations are in reasonable agreement with experimental results. Our work provides a detailed atomistic view of the ESI process of a heterogeneous system (lipid nanodisc), which may give insights into the interpretation of mass spectra of all lipid-protein systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beibei Wang
- grid.20513.350000 0004 1789 9964Centre for Advanced Materials Research, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, 519087 People’s Republic of China
| | - D. Peter Tieleman
- grid.22072.350000 0004 1936 7697Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Molecular Simulation, University of Calgary, Calgary, T2N 1N4 Canada
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3
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Abaye DA, Agbo IA, Nielsen BV. Current perspectives on supercharging reagents in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. RSC Adv 2021; 11:20355-20369. [PMID: 35479879 PMCID: PMC9033978 DOI: 10.1039/d1ra00745a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), analytes are introduced into the mass spectrometer in typically aqueous-organic solvent mixtures, including pH modifiers. One mechanism for improving the signal intensity and simultaneously increasing the generation of higher charge-state ions is the inclusion of small amounts (approx. <0.5% v/v mobile phase solution) of charge-inducing or supercharging reagents, such as m-nitrobenzyl alcohol, o-nitrobenzyl alcohol, m-nitrobenzonitrile, m-(trifluoromethyl)-benzyl alcohol and sulfolane. We explore the direct and indirect (colligative properties) that have been proposed as responsible for their modes of action during ESI. Of the many theorized mechanisms of ESI, we re-visit the three most popular and highlight how they are impacted by supercharging observations on small ions to large molecules including proteins. We then provide a comprehensive list of 34 supercharging reagents that have been demonstrated in ESI experiments. We include an additional 19 potential candidate isomers as supercharging reagents and comment on their broad physico-chemical properties. It is becoming increasingly obvious that advances in technology and improved ion source design, analyzers e.g. the use of ion mobility, ion trap, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, together with computer modeling are increasing the knowledge base and, together with the untested isomers and yet-to-be unearthed ones, offer opportunities for further research and application in other areas of polymer research. A simple illustration of the positive electrospray ionization (ESI) environment.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A. Abaye
- Department of Basic Sciences
- School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences
- University of Health and Allied Sciences
- Ho
- Ghana
| | - Irene A. Agbo
- Department of Basic Sciences
- School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences
- University of Health and Allied Sciences
- Ho
- Ghana
| | - Birthe V. Nielsen
- School of Science
- Faculty of Engineering and Science
- University of Greenwich
- Kent
- UK
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4
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Zhang J, Bogdanov B, Parkins A, McCallum CM. Observation of Magic Number Clusters from Thermal Dissociation Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Lithium Formate Ionic Clusters. J Phys Chem A 2020; 124:3535-3541. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.0c01973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Bogdan Bogdanov
- Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Pleasanton, California 94566, United States
| | - Andrew Parkins
- Department of Chemistry, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California 95212, United States
| | - C. Michael McCallum
- Department of Chemistry, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California 95212, United States
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Oh MI, Consta S. General solvation motifs of a charged linear macroion in an aqueous droplet. Mol Phys 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2019.1596326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Myong In Oh
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Styliani Consta
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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Laimer F, Kranabetter L, Tiefenthaler L, Albertini S, Zappa F, Ellis AM, Gatchell M, Scheier P. Highly Charged Droplets of Superfluid Helium. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 123:165301. [PMID: 31702350 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.123.165301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
We report on the production and study of stable, highly charged droplets of superfluid helium. Using a novel experimental setup we produce neutral beams of liquid helium nanodroplets containing millions of atoms or more that can be ionized by electron impact, mass-per-charge selected, and ionized a second time before being analyzed. Droplets containing up to 55 net positive charges are identified and the appearance sizes of multiply charge droplets are determined as a function of the charge state. We show that the droplets are stable on the millisecond timescale of the experiment and decay through the loss of small charged clusters, not through symmetric Coulomb explosions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Laimer
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Lorenz Kranabetter
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Lukas Tiefenthaler
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Simon Albertini
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Fabio Zappa
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Departamento de Física-ICE, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Campus Universitário, 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil
| | - Andrew M Ellis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Gatchell
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paul Scheier
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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Rolland AD, Prell JS. Computational Insights into Compaction of Gas-Phase Protein and Protein Complex Ions in Native Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry. Trends Analyt Chem 2019; 116:282-291. [PMID: 31983791 PMCID: PMC6979403 DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2019.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Native ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) is a rapidly growing field for studying the composition and structure of biomolecules and biomolecular complexes using gas-phase methods. Typically, ions are formed in native IM-MS using gentle nanoelectrospray ionization conditions, which in many cases can preserve condensed-phase stoichiometry. Although much evidence shows that large-scale condensed-phase structure, such as quaternary structure and topology, can also be preserved, it is less clear to what extent smaller-scale structure is preserved in native IM-MS. This review surveys computational and experimental efforts aimed at characterizing compaction and structural rearrangements of protein and protein complex ions upon transfer to the gas phase. A brief summary of gas-phase compaction results from molecular dynamics simulations using multiple common force fields and a wide variety of protein ions is presented and compared to literature IM-MS data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber D. Rolland
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1253 University
of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA, 97403-1253
| | - James S. Prell
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 1253 University
of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA, 97403-1253
- Materials Science Institute, 1252 University of Oregon,
Eugene, OR, USA 97403-1252
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Konermann L, Metwally H, Duez Q, Peters I. Charging and supercharging of proteins for mass spectrometry: recent insights into the mechanisms of electrospray ionization. Analyst 2019; 144:6157-6171. [DOI: 10.1039/c9an01201j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations have uncovered mechanistic details of the protein ESI process under various experimental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Konermann
- Department of Chemistry
- The University of Western Ontario
- London
- Canada
| | - Haidy Metwally
- Department of Chemistry
- The University of Western Ontario
- London
- Canada
| | - Quentin Duez
- Department of Chemistry
- The University of Western Ontario
- London
- Canada
| | - Insa Peters
- Department of Chemistry
- The University of Western Ontario
- London
- Canada
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