Conversion of multiple analyte cation types to a single analyte anion type via ion/ion charge inversion

Mass spectrometry of dendrimers

Mass spectrometry (MS) has become an essential technique to characterize dendrimers as it proved efficient at tackling analytical challenges raised by their peculiar onion-like structure. Owing to their chemical diversity, this review covers benefits of MS methods as a function of dendrimer classes, discussing advantages and limitations of ionization techniques, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) strategies to determine the structure of defective species, as well as most recently demonstrated capabilities of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) in the field. Complementarily, the well-defined structure of these macromolecules offers major advantages in the development of MS-based method, as reported in a second section reviewing uses of dendrimers as MS and IMS calibration standards and as multifunctional charge inversion reagents in gas phase ion/ion reactions.

Perspective on Emerging Mass Spectrometry Technologies for Comprehensive Lipid Structural Elucidation

Lipids and metabolites are of interest in many clinical and research settings because it is the metabolome that is increasingly recognized as a more dynamic and sensitive molecular measure of phenotype. The enormous diversity of lipid structures and the importance of biological structure-function relationships in a wide variety of applications makes accurate identification a challenging yet crucial area of research in the lipid community. Indeed, subtle differences in the chemical structures of lipids can have important implications in cellular metabolism and many disease pathologies. The speed, sensitivity, and molecular specificity afforded by modern mass spectrometry has led to its widespread adoption in the field of lipidomics on many different instrument platforms and experimental workflows. However, unambiguous and complete structural identification of lipids by mass spectrometry remains challenging. Increasingly sophisticated tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) approaches are now being developed and seamlessly integrated into lipidomics workflows to meet this challenge. These approaches generally either (i) alter the type of ion that is interrogated or (ii) alter the dissociation method in order to improve the structural information obtained from the MS/MS experiment. In this Perspective, we highlight recent advances in both ion type alteration and ion dissociation methods for lipid identification by mass spectrometry. This discussion is aimed to engage investigators involved in fundamental ion chemistry and technology developments as well as practitioners of lipidomics and its many applications. The rapid rate of technology development in recent years has accelerated and strengthened the ties between these two research communities. We identify the common characteristics and practical figures of merit of these emerging approaches and discuss ways these may catalyze future directions of lipid structural elucidation research.

Ion/ion Charge Inversion/Attachment in Conjunction with Dipolar DC Collisional Activation as a Selective Screen for Sulfo- and Phosphopeptides

We describe a gas-phase approach for the rapid screening of polypeptide anions for phosphorylation or sulfonation based on binding strengths to guanidinium-containing reagent ions. The approach relies on the generation of a complex via reaction of mixtures of deprotonated polypeptide anions with dicationic guanidinium-containing reagent ions and subsequent dipolar DC collisional activation of the complexes. The relative strengths of the electrostatic interactions of guanidinium with deprotonated acidic sites follows the order carboxylate<phosph(on)ate<sulf(on)ate. The differences between the binding strengths at these sites allows for the use of an appropriately selected dipolar DC amplitude to lead to significantly different dissociation rates for complexes derived from unmodified peptides versus phosphorylated and sulfated peptides. The difference in binding strengths between guanidinium and phosph(on)ate versus guanidinium and sulf(on)ate is sufficiently great to allow for the dissociation of a large fraction of phosphopeptide complexes with the dissociation of a much smaller fraction of sulfopeptide complexes. DFT calculations and experimental data with model peptides and with a mixture of tryptic peptides spiked with phosphopeptides are presented to illustrate and support this approach. Dissociation rate data are presented that demonstrate the differences in binding strengths for different anion charge-bearing sites and that reveal the DDC conditions most likely to provide the greatest discrimination between unmodified peptides, phosphopeptides, and sulfopeptides.

Reagent cluster anions for multiple gas-phase covalent modifications of peptide and protein cations

Multiple gas phase ion/ion covalent modifications of peptide and protein ions are demonstrated using cluster-type reagent anions of N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide acetate (sulfo-NHS acetate) and 2-formyl-benzenesulfonic acid (FBMSA). These reagents are used to selectively modify unprotonated primary amine functionalities of peptides and proteins. Multiple reactive reagent molecules can be present in a single cluster ion, which allows for multiple covalent modifications to be achieved in a single ion/ion encounter and at the 'cost' of only a single analyte charge. Multiple derivatizations are demonstrated when the number of available reactive sites on the analyte cation exceeds the number of reagent molecules in the anionic cluster (e.g., data shown here for reactions between the polypeptide [K10 + 3H](3+) and the reagent cluster [5R(5Na) - Na](-)). This type of gas-phase ion chemistry is also applicable to whole protein ions. Here, ubiquitin was successfully modified using an FBMSA cluster anion which, upon collisional activation, produced fragment ions with various numbers of modifications. Data for the pentamer cluster are included as illustrative of the results obtained for the clusters comprised of two to six reagent molecules.

Gas-phase ion/ion reactions of peptides and proteins: acid/base, redox, and covalent chemistries

Gas-phase ion/ion reactions are emerging as useful and flexible means for the manipulation and characterization of peptide and protein biopolymers. Acid/base-like chemical reactions (i.e., proton transfer reactions) and reduction/oxidation (redox) reactions (i.e., electron transfer reactions) represent relatively mature classes of gas-phase chemical reactions. Even so, especially in regards to redox chemistry, the widespread utility of these two types of chemistries is undergoing rapid growth and development. Additionally, a relatively new class of gas-phase ion/ion transformations is emerging which involves the selective formation of functional-group-specific covalent bonds. This feature details our current work and perspective on the developments and current capabilities of these three areas of ion/ion chemistry with an eye towards possible future directions of the field.

Charge inversion via concurrent cation and anion transfer: application to corticosteroids

A novel charge inversion process that involves the removal of an excess cation from an analyte ion and the transfer of an anion to the neutral analyte in a single ion/ion encounter is described. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) half-generation dendrimer anions that contain small anions, such as the chloride ion, were used as charge inversion reagents. Several competing processes can occur that include removal of the cation to neutralize the analyte, the removal of the excess cation and an additional proton to yield the deprotonated molecule, or removal of the excess cation and transfer of a small anion to the analyte. For the latter process to dominate, several requirements for both the reagent anion and the analyte cation must be met. The reagent anion must form multiply charged anions and must be able to incorporate one or more small anions for transfer. The analyte must have no strongly acidic sites as well as a relatively high affinity for small anion attachment. The PAMAM dendrimer anions must meet the conditions for the reagent anions and the cations of the corticosteroids meet the conditions for the analyte. The estrogenic steroid estrone, on the other hand, does not meet the requirements and, as a result, is largely neutralized when reacted with the reagent anions. This reaction, therefore, is highly selective and might serve as a useful reaction for the screening of appropriate analytes.