RESUMEN
Orbitrap-based charge detection mass spectrometry utilizes single-molecule sensitivity to enable mass analysis of even highly heterogeneous, high-mass macromolecular assemblies. For contemporary Orbitrap instruments, the accessible ion detection (recording) times are maximally ~1-2 s. Here by modifying a data acquisition method on an Orbitrap ultrahigh mass range mass spectrometer, we trapped and monitored individual (single) ions for up to 25 s, resulting in a corresponding and huge improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (×5 compared with 1 s), mass resolution (×25) and accuracy in charge and mass determination of Orbitrap-based charge detection mass spectrometry.
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Espectrometría de Masas , Espectrometría de Masas/métodos , Análisis Espectral , IonesRESUMEN
Optimizing data-independent acquisition methods for proteomics applications often requires balancing spectral resolution and acquisition speed. Here, we describe a real-time full mass range implementation of the phase-constrained spectrum deconvolution method (ΦSDM) for Orbitrap mass spectrometry that increases mass resolving power without increasing scan time. Comparing its performance to the standard enhanced Fourier transformation signal processing revealed that the increased resolving power of ΦSDM is beneficial in areas of high peptide density and comes with a greater ability to resolve low-abundance signals. In a standard 2 h analysis of a 200 ng HeLa digest, this resulted in an increase of 16% in the number of quantified peptides. As the acquisition speed becomes even more important when using fast chromatographic gradients, we further applied ΦSDM methods to a range of shorter gradient lengths (21, 12, and 5 min). While ΦSDM improved identification rates and spectral quality in all tested gradients, it proved particularly advantageous for the 5 min gradient. Here, the number of identified protein groups and peptides increased by >15% in comparison to enhanced Fourier transformation processing. In conclusion, ΦSDM is an alternative signal processing algorithm for processing Orbitrap data that can improve spectral quality and benefit quantitative accuracy in typical proteomics experiments, especially when using short gradients.
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Proteoma , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem , Humanos , Proteoma/metabolismo , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/métodos , Péptidos/análisis , Células HeLa , Proteómica/métodosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Clinical samples are irreplaceable, and their transformation into searchable and reusable digital biobanks is critical for conducting statistically empowered retrospective and integrative research studies. Currently, mainly data-independent acquisition strategies are employed to digitize clinical sample cohorts comprehensively. However, the sensitivity of DIA is limited, which is why selected marker candidates are often additionally measured targeted by parallel reaction monitoring. METHODS: Here, we applied the recently co-developed hybrid-PRM/DIA technology as a new intelligent data acquisition strategy that allows for the comprehensive digitization of rare clinical samples at the proteotype level. Hybrid-PRM/DIA enables enhanced measurement sensitivity for a specific set of analytes of current clinical interest by the intelligent triggering of multiplexed parallel reaction monitoring (MSxPRM) in combination with the discovery-driven digitization of the clinical biospecimen using DIA. Heavy-labeled reference peptides were utilized as triggers for MSxPRM and monitoring of endogenous peptides. RESULTS: We first evaluated hybrid-PRM/DIA in a clinical context on a pool of 185 selected proteotypic peptides for tumor-associated antigens derived from 64 annotated human protein groups. We demonstrated improved reproducibility and sensitivity for the detection of endogenous peptides, even at lower concentrations near the detection limit. Up to 179 MSxPRM scans were shown not to affect the overall DIA performance. Next, we applied hybrid-PRM/DIA for the integrated digitization of biobanked melanoma samples using a set of 30 AQUA peptides against 28 biomarker candidates with relevance in molecular tumor board evaluations of melanoma patients. Within the DIA-detected approximately 6500 protein groups, the selected marker candidates such as UFO, CDK4, NF1, and PMEL could be monitored consistently and quantitatively using MSxPRM scans, providing additional confidence for supporting future clinical decision-making. CONCLUSIONS: Combining PRM and DIA measurements provides a new strategy for the sensitive and reproducible detection of protein markers from patients currently being discussed in molecular tumor boards in combination with the opportunity to discover new biomarker candidates.
RESUMEN
The measurement of collision cross sections (CCS, σ) offers supplemental information about sizes and conformations of ions beyond mass analysis alone. We have previously shown that CCSs can be determined directly from the time-domain transient decay of ions in an Orbitrap mass analyzer as ions oscillate around the central electrode and collide with neutral gas, thus removing them from the ion packet. Herein, we develop the modified hard collision model, thus deviating from the prior FT-MS hard sphere model, to determine CCSs as a function of center-of-mass collision energy in the Orbitrap analyzer. With this model, we aim to increase the upper mass limit of CCS measurement for native-like proteins, characterized by low charge states and presumed to be in more compact conformations. We also combine CCS measurements with collision induced unfolding and tandem mass spectrometry experiments to monitor protein unfolding and disassembly of protein complexes and measure CCSs of ejected monomers from protein complexes.
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Proteínas , Proteínas/química , Iones/químicaRESUMEN
We describe an instrument configuration based on the Orbitrap Exploris 480 mass spectrometer that has been coupled to an Omnitrap platform. The Omnitrap possesses three distinct ion-activation regions that can be used to perform resonant-based collision-induced dissociation, several forms of electron-associated fragmentation, and ultraviolet photodissociation. Each section can also be combined with infrared multiphoton dissociation. In this work, we demonstrate all these modes of operation in a range of peptides and proteins. The results show that this instrument configuration produces similar data to previous implementations of each activation technique and at similar efficiency levels. We demonstrate that this unique instrument configuration is extremely versatile for the investigation of polypeptides.
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Electrones , Péptidos , Péptidos/química , Proteínas/análisis , Espectrometría de Masas/métodos , Proyectos de InvestigaciónRESUMEN
The direct correlation between proteoforms and biological phenotype necessitates the exploration of mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods more suitable for proteoform detection and characterization. Here, we couple nano-hydrophobic interaction chromatography (nano-HIC) to ultraviolet photodissociation MS (UVPD-MS) for separation and characterization of intact proteins and proteoforms. High linearity, sensitivity, and sequence coverage are obtained with this method for a variety of proteins. Investigation of collisional cross sections of intact proteins during nano-HIC indicates semifolded conformations in low charge states, enabling a different dimension of separation in comparison to traditional, fully denaturing reversed-phase separations. This method is demonstrated for a mixture of intact proteins from Escherichia coli ribosomes; high sequence coverage is obtained for a variety of modified and unmodified proteoforms.
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Proteínas , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem , Cromatografía Liquida/métodos , Escherichia coli/genética , Interacciones Hidrofóbicas e Hidrofílicas , Espectrofotometría Ultravioleta/métodos , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/métodos , Rayos UltravioletaRESUMEN
Measurement of collision cross section (CCS), a parameter reflecting an ion's size and shape, alongside high-resolution mass analysis extends the depth of molecular analysis by providing structural information beyond molecular mass alone. Although these measurements are most commonly undertaken using a dedicated ion mobility cell coupled to a mass spectrometer, alternative methods have emerged to extract CCSs directly by analysis of the decay rates of either time-domain transient signals or the FWHM of frequency domain peaks in FT mass analyzers. This information is also accessible from FTMS mass spectra obtained in commonly used workflows directly without the explicit access to transient or complex Fourier spectra. Previously, these experiments required isolation of individual charge states of ions prior to CCS analysis, limiting throughput. Here we advance Orbitrap CCS measurements to more users and applications by determining CCSs from commonly available mass spectra files as well as estimating CCS for multiple charge states simultaneously and showcase these methods by the measurement of CCSs of fragment ions produced from collisional activation of proteins.
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Proteínas , Espectrometría de Masas/métodos , Iones/químicaRESUMEN
Core histones including H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 are key modulators of cellular repair, transcription, and replication within eukaryotic cells, playing vital roles in the pathogenesis of disease and cellular responses to environmental stimuli. Traditional mass spectrometry (MS)-based bottom-up and top-down proteomics allows for the comprehensive identification of proteins and of post-translational modification (PTM) harboring proteoforms. However, these methodologies have difficulties preserving near-cellular spatial distributions because they typically require laser capture microdissection (LCM) and advanced sample preparation techniques. Herein, we coupled a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) source with a Thermo Scientific Q Exactive HF Orbitrap MS upgraded with ultrahigh mass range (UHMR) boards for the first demonstration of complementary high-resolution accurate mass (HR/AM) measurements of proteoforms up to 16.5 kDa directly from tissues using this benchtop mass spectrometer. The platform achieved isotopic resolution throughout the detected mass range, providing confident assignments of proteoforms with low ppm mass error and a considerable increase in duty cycle over other Fourier transform mass analyzers. Proteoform mapping of core histones was demonstrated on sections of human kidney at near-cellular spatial resolution, with several key distributions of histone and other proteoforms noted within both healthy biopsy and a section from a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) containing nephrectomy. The use of MALDI-MS imaging (MSI) for proteoform mapping demonstrates several steps toward high-throughput accurate identification of proteoforms and provides a new tool for mapping biomolecule distributions throughout tissue sections in extended mass ranges.
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Histonas , Proteómica , Análisis de Fourier , Histonas/metabolismo , Humanos , Riñón/metabolismo , Proteómica/métodos , Espectrometría de Masa por Láser de Matriz Asistida de Ionización Desorción/métodosRESUMEN
State-of-the-art proteomics-grade mass spectrometers can measure peptide precursors and their fragments with ppm mass accuracy at sequencing speeds of tens of peptides per second with attomolar sensitivity. Here we describe a compact and robust quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometer equipped with a front-end High Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS) Interface. The performance of the Orbitrap Exploris 480 mass spectrometer is evaluated in data-dependent acquisition (DDA) and data-independent acquisition (DIA) modes in combination with FAIMS. We demonstrate that different compensation voltages (CVs) for FAIMS are optimal for DDA and DIA, respectively. Combining DIA with FAIMS using single CVs, the instrument surpasses 2500 peptides identified per minute. This enables quantification of >5000 proteins with short online LC gradients delivered by the Evosep One LC system allowing acquisition of 60 samples per day. The raw sensitivity of the instrument is evaluated by analyzing 5 ng of a HeLa digest from which >1000 proteins were reproducibly identified with 5 min LC gradients using DIA-FAIMS. To demonstrate the versatility of the instrument, we recorded an organ-wide map of proteome expression across 12 rat tissues quantified by tandem mass tags and label-free quantification using DIA with FAIMS to a depth of >10,000 proteins.
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Espectrometría de Movilidad Iónica , Espectrometría de Masas , Proteoma/metabolismo , Animales , Cromatografía Liquida , Células HeLa , Humanos , Masculino , Sistemas de Lectura Abierta/genética , Especificidad de Órganos , Péptidos/metabolismo , Fosfopéptidos/metabolismo , Fosfoproteínas/metabolismo , Proteómica , Ratas Sprague-DawleyRESUMEN
Widely used isotope ratio mass spectrometers have limited capabilities to measure metabolites, drugs, or small polyatomic ions without the loss of structural isotopic information. A new approach has recently been introduced that uses electrospray ionization Orbitrap to measure multidimensional isotope signatures of intact polar compounds. Using nitrate as a model compound, this study aims to establish performance metrics for comparisons with conventional IRMS at the natural abundance level. We present a framework on how to convert isotopolog intensities to δ values that are commonly used in the isotope geochemistry community. The quantification of seven nitrate isotopologs provides multiple pathways for obtaining the primary N and O δ values including non-mass-dependent O isotope variations, as well as opportunities to explore nonrandom isotopic distributions (i.e., clumping effects) within molecular nitrate. Using automation and the adaptation of measurement principles that are specific to isotope ratio analysis, nitrate δ15NAIR, δ18OVSMOW, and δ17OVSMOW were measured with a long-term precision of 0.4 or better for isotopic reference materials and purified nitrate from environmental samples. In addition, we demonstrate promising results for unpurified environmental samples in liquid form. With these new developments, this study connects the two largely disparate mass spectrometry fields of bioanalytical MS and isotope ratio MS, thus providing a route to measure new isotopic signatures in diverse organic and inorganic solutes.
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Nitratos , Óxidos de Nitrógeno , Espectrometría de Masas , Isótopos de Nitrógeno , Isótopos de OxígenoRESUMEN
State-of-the-art mass spectrometry with ultraviolet (UV) photoionization is mostly limited to time-of-flight (ToF) mass spectrometers with 1000-10â¯000 m/Δm mass resolution. However, higher resolution and higher spectral dynamic range mass spectrometry may be indispensable in complex mixture characterization. Here, we present the concept, implementation, and initial evaluation of a compact ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometer with gas-phase laser ionization. The concept is based on direct laser photoionization in the ion accumulation and ejection trap (C-trap) of an Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) using 266 nm UV pulses from a frequency-quadrupled Nd:YAG laser was applied for selective and efficient ionization of monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The system is equipped with a gas inlet for volatile compounds and a heated gas chromatography coupling. The former can be employed for rapid system m/z-calibration and performance evaluation, whereas the latter enables analysis of semivolatile and higher-molecular-weight compounds. The capability to evaluate complex mixtures is demonstrated for selected petrochemical materials. In these experiments, several hundred to over a thousand compounds could be attributed with a root-mean-square mass error generally below 1 ppm and a mass resolution of over 140â¯000 at 200 m/z. Isobaric interferences could be resolved, and narrow mass splits, such as 3.4 mDa (SH4/C3), are determined. Single laser shots provided limits of detection in the 20-ppb range for p-xylene and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, similar to compact vacuum REMPI-ToF systems.
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Rayos Láser , Hidrocarburos Policíclicos Aromáticos , Cromatografía de Gases y Espectrometría de Masas , Espectrometría de Masas , Hidrocarburos Policíclicos Aromáticos/análisis , VacioRESUMEN
Investigation of the structure, assembly and function of protein-nucleic acid macromolecular machines requires multidimensional molecular and structural biology approaches. We describe modifications to an Orbitrap mass spectrometer, enabling high-resolution native MS analysis of 0.8- to 2.3-MDa prokaryotic 30S, 50S and 70S ribosome particles and the 9-MDa Flock House virus. The instrument's improved mass range and sensitivity readily exposes unexpected binding of the ribosome-associated protein SRA.
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Escherichia coli/citología , Espectrometría de Masas/métodos , Nodaviridae/ultraestructura , ARN Largo no Codificante/metabolismo , Subunidades Ribosómicas Grandes Bacterianas/ultraestructura , Subunidades Ribosómicas Pequeñas Bacterianas/ultraestructura , Espectrometría de Masas/instrumentación , Nodaviridae/genética , Unión Proteica/fisiología , Subunidades Ribosómicas Grandes Bacterianas/genética , Subunidades Ribosómicas Pequeñas Bacterianas/genéticaRESUMEN
As the application of mass spectrometry intensifies in scope and diversity, the need for advanced instrumentation addressing a wide variety of analytical needs also increases. To this end, many modern, top-end mass spectrometers are designed or modified to include a wider range of fragmentation technologies, for example, ECD, ETD, EThcD, and UVPD. Still, the majority of instrument platforms are limited to more conventional methods, such as CID and HCD. While these latter methods have performed well, the less conventional fragmentation methods have been shown to lead to increased information in many applications including middle-down proteomics, top-down proteomics, glycoproteomics, and disulfide bond mapping. We describe the modification of the popular Q Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometer to extend its fragmentation capabilities to include ECD. We show that this modification allows ≥85% matched ion intensity to originate from ECD fragment ion types as well as provides high sequence coverage (≥60%) of intact proteins and high fragment identification rates with â¼70% of ion signals matched. Finally, the ECD implementation promotes selective disulfide bond dissociation, facilitating the identification of disulfide-linked peptide conjugates. Collectively, this modification extends the capabilities of the Q Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometer to a range of new applications.
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Electrones , Fragmentos de Péptidos/análisis , Procesamiento Proteico-Postraduccional , Proteómica/instrumentación , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/instrumentación , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Disulfuros/química , Diseño de Equipo , Humanos , Iones , Mioglobina/análisis , Mioglobina/química , Fragmentos de Péptidos/química , Proteolisis , Proteómica/métodos , Sustancia P/análisis , Sustancia P/química , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/métodos , Ubiquitina/análisis , Ubiquitina/químicaRESUMEN
Electrospray ionization (ESI) combined with ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) is adding new dimensions, that is, structure and dynamics, to the field of biological mass spectrometry. There is increasing evidence that gas-phase ions produced by ESI can closely resemble their solution-phase structures, but correlating these structures can be complicated owing to the number of competing effects contributing to structural preferences, including both inter- and intramolecular interactions. Ions encounter unique hydration environments during the transition from solution to the gas phase that will likely affect their structure(s), but many of these structural changes will go undetected because ESI-IM-MS analysis is typically performed on solvent-free ions. Cryogenic ion mobility-mass spectrometry (cryo-IM-MS) takes advantage of the freeze-drying capabilities of ESI and a cryogenically cooled IM drift cell (80 K) to preserve extensively solvated ions of the type [M + xH](x+)(H2O)n, where n can vary from zero to several hundred. This affords an experimental approach for tracking the structural evolution of hydrated biomolecules en route to forming solvent-free gas-phase ions. The studies highlighted in this Account illustrate the varying extent to which dehydration can alter ion structure and the overall impact of cryo-IM-MS on structural studies of hydrated biomolecules. Studies of small ions, including protonated water clusters and alkyl diammonium cations, reveal structural transitions associated with the development of the H-bond network of water molecules surrounding the charge carrier(s). For peptide ions, results show that water networks are highly dependent on the charge-carrying species within the cluster. Specifically, hydrated peptide ions containing lysine display specific hydration behavior around the ammonium ion, that is, magic number clusters with enhanced stability, whereas peptides containing arginine do not display specific hydration around the guanidinium ion. Studies on the neuropeptide substance P illustrate the ability of cryo-IM-MS to elucidate information about heterogeneous ion populations. Results show that a kinetically trapped conformer is stabilized by a combination of hydration and specific intramolecular interactions, but upon dehydration, this conformer rearranges to form a thermodynamically favored gas-phase ion conformation. Finally, recent studies on hydration of the protein ubiquitin reveal water-mediated dimerization, thereby illustrating the extension of this approach to studies of large biomolecules. Collectively, these studies illustrate a new dimension to studies of biomolecules, resulting from the ability to monitor snapshots of the structural evolution of ions during the transition from solution to gas phase and provide unparalleled insights into the intricate interplay between competing effects that dictate conformational preferences.
RESUMEN
Native mass spectrometry can provide insight into the structure of macromolecular biological systems. As analytes under investigation get larger and more complex, instrument capabilities need to be advanced. Herein, modifications to an Orbitrap Q Exactive Plus mass spectrometer that increase signal intensity, mass resolution, and maximum m/z measurable are described.
RESUMEN
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 ß-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.
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Multimerización de Proteína/efectos de la radiación , Proteínas/química , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem , Rayos Ultravioleta , Estructura Cuaternaria de ProteínaRESUMEN
Proteomics applications performed on the popular benchtop Q Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometer have so far relied exclusively on higher collision-energy dissociation (HCD) fragmentation for peptide sequencing. While this fragmentation technique is applicable to a wide range of biological questions, it also has limitations, and all questions cannot be addressed equally well. Here, we demonstrate that the fragmentation capabilities of the Q Exactive mass spectrometer can be extended with ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) fragmentation, complete with synchronization triggering to make it compatible with liquid chromatography (LC)/tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) workflows. We show that UVPD not only is directly compatible with LC/MS workflows but also, when combined with these workflows, can result in higher database scores and increased identification rates for complex samples as compared to HCD methods. UVPD as a fragmentation technique offers prompt, high-energy fragmentation, which can potentially lead to improved analyses of labile post-translational modifications. Techniques like HCD result in substantial amounts of modification losses, competing with fragmentation pathways that provide information-rich ion fragments. We investigate here the utility of UVPD for identification of phosphorylated peptides and find that UVPD fragmentation reduces the extent of labile modification loss by up to â¼60%. Collectively, when integrated into a complete workflow on the Q Exactive Orbitrap, UVPD provides distinct advantages to the analysis of post-translational modifications and is a powerful and complementary addition to the proteomic toolbox.
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Fosfoproteínas/análisis , Fosfoproteínas/efectos de la radiación , Fotólisis/efectos de la radiación , Proteómica/instrumentación , Espectrometría de Masas en Tándem/instrumentación , Rayos Ultravioleta , Cromatografía Liquida/instrumentaciónRESUMEN
Hydration of the ammonium ion plays a key role in determining the biomolecular structure as well as local structure of water in aqueous environments. Experimental data obtained by cryogenic ion mobility-mass spectrometry (cryo-IM-MS) show that dehydration of alkyl diammonium cations induces a distinct unfolding transition at a critical number of water molecules, n = 21 to 23, n = 24 to 26, and n = 27 to 29, for 1,7-diaminoheptane, 1,8-diaminooctane, and 1,10-diaminodecane, respectively. Results are also presented that reveal compelling evidence for unique structural transitions of hydrated ammonium ions associated with the development of the hydrogen-bond network around individual charged groups. The ability to track the evolution of structure upon stepwise dehydration provides direct insight into the intricate interplay between solvent-molecule interactions that are responsible for defining conformations. Such insights are potentially valuable in understanding how ammonium ion solvation influences conformation(s) of larger biomolecules.
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Diaminas/química , Agua/química , Cationes/química , Congelación , Espectrometría de Masa por Ionización de ElectrosprayRESUMEN
Great progress has been made in the detection of large biomolecular analytes by native mass spectrometry; however, characterizing highly heterogeneous samples remains challenging due to the presence of many overlapping signals from complex ion distributions. Electron-capture charge reduction (ECCR), in which a protein cation captures free electrons without apparent dissociation, can separate overlapping signals by shifting the ions to lower charge states. The concomitant shift to higher m/z also facilitates the exploration of instrument upper m/z limits if large complexes are used. Here we perform native ECCR on the bacterial chaperonin GroEL and megadalton scale adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid assemblies on a Q Exactive UHMR mass spectrometer. Charge reduction of AAV8 capsids by up to 90% pushes signals well above 100,000 m/z and enables charge state resolution and mean mass determination of these highly heterogeneous samples, even for capsids loaded with genetic cargo. With minor instrument modifications, the UHMR instrument can detect charge-reduced ion signals beyond 200,000 m/z. This work demonstrates the utility of ECCR for deconvolving heterogeneous signals in native mass spectrometry and presents the highest m/z signals ever recorded on an Orbitrap instrument, opening up the use of Orbitrap native mass spectrometry for heavier analytes than ever before.
RESUMEN
Past experimental results and molecular dynamics simulations provide evidence that, under some conditions, electrospray ionization (ESI) of biomolecules produces ions that retain elements of solution phase structures. However, there is a dearth of information regarding the question raised by Breuker and McLafferty, "for how long, under what conditions, and to what extent, can solution structure be retained without solvent?" (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2008, 105, 18145). Here, we use cryogenic ion mobility-mass spectrometry to experimentally probe the structural evolution of the undecapeptide substance P (SP) during the final stages of ESI. The results reveal that anhydrous SP conformers originate from evaporation of cluster ions, specifically, [SP + 2H](2+) (H2O)n (n = 0 to â¼50) and [SP + 3H](3+) (H2O)n (n = 0 to â¼30), and that major structural changes do not occur during the evaporative process. In the case of [SP + 3H](3+), the results demonstrate that a compact dehydrated conformer population can be kinetically trapped on the time scale of several milliseconds, even when an extended gas phase conformation is energetically favorable.