Determination of Gas-Phase Ion Mobility Coefficients Using Voltage Sweep Multiplexing.

In a standard single averaged, drift tube ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) experiment, typically less than 1% of the ions are utilized, with the rest of the ions neutralizing on a closed ion gate or ion optic element. Though some efforts at lower pressures (e.g., 4 Torr) have been made to address this issue by concentrating ions prior to release into a drift cell, the ion current reaching the detector during an IMS experiment is often diminished due to this lower duty cycle. Additionally, when considering the temporal nature of the drift tube IMS experiment and the trajectory of IMS towards higher resolution separations and lower duty cycles, increased detector sampling rates are another factor also which further necessitates new modes of conducting the IMS experiment. Placing this trend in context with ion mobility-mass spectrometry instruments (IM-MS), there are numerous types of mass spectrometers that are simply incompatible with the single averaged ion mobility spectrometry experiments due to timing incompatibilities (i.e., ion traps are an order of magnitude slower than the IMS experiment). However, by utilizing a dual gate ion mobility spectrometer for ion multiplexing, ion utilization efficiency can be significantly increased while creating a measurement signal that can be recorded at low sampling rates. In this work, we present the fundamental theory and first results from proof-of-concept measurements using a new type of ion multiplexing that relies on changing the electric field within the drift cell during the course of an experiment while simultaneously opening the ion gates at a constant frequency. For brevity, this mode is termed voltage sweep multiplexing (VSM). Key variables for this type of experiment are discussed and verified with measurements from traditional signal averaged experiments. Graphical Abstract .

Stabilization of gas-phase uranyl complexes enables rapid speciation using electrospray ionization and ion mobility-mass spectrometry.

Significant challenges exist when characterizing f-element complexes in solution using traditional approaches such as electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques as they do not always capture information for lower abundance species. However, provided a metal-complex with sufficient stability, soft ionization techniques such as electrospray offer a means to quantify and probe the characteristics of such systems using mass spectrometry. Unfortunately, the gas-phase species observed in ESI-MS systems do not always reflect the solution phase distributions due to the inherent electrochemical mechanism of the electrospray process, ion transfer from ambient to low pressures conditions, and other factors that are related to droplet evaporation. Even for simple systems (e.g. hydrated cations), it is not always clear whether the distribution observed reflects the solution phase populations or whether it is simply a result of the ionization process. This complexity is further compounded in mixed solvent systems and when multiply charged species are present. Despite these challenges, the benefits of mass spectrometry with respect to speed, sensitivity, and the ability to resolve isotopes continue to drive efforts to develop techniques for the speciation of metal complexes. Using an electrospray ionization atmospheric pressure ion mobility mass spectrometer (ESI-apIMS-MS), we demonstrate an approach to stabilize simple uranyl complexes during the ionization process and mobility separation to aid speciation and isotope profile analysis. Specifically, we outline and demonstrate the capacity of ESI-apIMS-MS methods to measure mobilities of different uranyl species, in simple mixtures, by promoting stable gas phase conformations with the addition of sulfoxides (i.e. dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dibutyl sulfoxide (DBSO), and methyl phenyl sulfoxide (MPSO)). Addition of these sulfoxides, as observed in the mass spectrum and mobility domain, produce stable gas-phase conformations that enable the observation of the counter anion pair while minimizing the range of ligand exchange events as the ionized complex enters the gas-phase. Other enhancements include improved data acquisition times by applying multiplexing approaches to the IMS Bradbury-Nielsen (BN) gate to realize increased ion transmission and improve ion statistics measured at the m/z detector. Analyte identification using this approach is based on a multitude of combined measured gas-phase ion metrics, which include mass measurements, isotope profiling, and experimentally determined reduced mobilities measured at the low-field limit (<2 E/N). Though geared initially towards uranyl complexes, this approach may find application in fields where both chemical speciation and isotopic profiles provide diagnostic information for a given metal.

Tunable pH-Sensitive Linker for Controlled Release.

We have developed a novel pH-sensitive linker based on a phosphoramidate scaffold that can be tuned to release amine-containing drug molecules at various pH values. The pH-triggered phosphoramidate-based linkers are responsive to pH alone and do not require intracellular enzymatic action to initiate drug release. Key to the pH-triggered amine release from these linkers is a proximal acidic group (e.g., pyridinium or carboxylic acid) to promote the hydrolysis of the phosphoramidate P-N bond, presumably through an intramolecular general-acid type mechanism. Phosphoramidate hydrolysis is largely governed by the pKa of the leaving amine (e.g., primary, secondary, aniline). However, the proximity of the neighboring pyridine group attenuates the stability of the P-N bond to hydrolysis, thus allowing for control over the release of an amine from the phosphoramidate center. Based on the model scaffolds examined, phosphoramidate-based linkers could be selected for particular properties for controlled-release applications such as amine type, stability under physiological conditions, or release rates at various pH values such as intracellular endosomal conditions. The tunability of the phosphoramidate scaffold is expected to find broad applicability in various controlled drug-release applications such as antibody or small-molecule drug conjugates, drug-eluting stents, prodrug activation, as well as intracellular trafficking studies in which pH changes can trigger the release of turn-on dyes.

Rationally designed sulfamides as glutamate carboxypeptidase II inhibitors.

Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) is a membrane-bound cell surface peptidase. There is significant interest in the inhibition of GCPII as a means of neuroprotection, while GCPII inhibition as a method to treat prostate cancer remains a topic of further investigation. The key zinc-binding functional group of the well-characterized classes of GCPII inhibitors (phosphonates and phosphoramidates) is tetrahedral and negatively charged at neutral pH, while glutamyl urea class of inhibitors possesses a planar and neutral zinc-binding group. This study explores a new class of GCPII inhibitors, glutamyl sulfamides, which possess a putative net neutral tetrahedral zinc-binding motif. A small library containing six sulfamides was prepared and evaluated for inhibitory potency against purified GCPII in an enzymatic assay. While most inhibitors have potencies in the micromolar range, one showed promising sub-micromolar potency, with the optimal inhibitor in this series being aspartyl-glutamyl sulfamide (2d). Lastly, computational docking was used to develop a tentative binding model on how the most potent inhibitors interact with the ligand-binding site of GCPII.