Influence of metal-peptide complexation on fragmentation and inter-fragment hydrogen migration in electron transfer dissociation.

The use of metal salts in electrospray ionization (ESI) of peptides increases the charge state of peptide ions, facilitating electron transfer dissociation (ETD) in tandem mass spectrometry. In the present study, K(+) and Ca(2+) were used as charge carriers to form multiply-charged metal-peptide complexes. ETD of the potassium- or calcium-peptide complex was initiated by transfer of an electron to a proton remote from the metal cation, and a c'-z• fragment complex, in which the c' and z• fragments were linked together via a metal cation coordinating with several amino acid residues, was formed. The presence of a metal cation in the precursor for ETD increased the lifetime of the c'-z• fragment complex, eventually generating c• and z' fragments through inter-fragment hydrogen migration. The degree of hydrogen migration was dependent on the location of the metal cation in the metal-peptide complex, but was not reconciled with conformation of the precursor ion obtained by molecular mechanics simulation. In contrast, the location of the metal cation in the intermediate suggested by the ETD spectrum was in agreement with the conformation of "proton-removed" precursors, indicating that the charge reduction of precursor ions by ETD induces conformational rearrangement during the fragmentation process.

Distinct features of matrix-assisted 6 microm infrared laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry in biomolecular analysis.

Midinfrared-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (mid-IR-MALDI MS) with a laser emission in the 6 microm wavelength range, which utilizes energy absorption at the C=O double-bond stretch region, was applied to biomolecular analysis. The softness of IR-MALDI MS was evident in the negative ion mode yielding clean mass spectra of [M - H](-) ions for acidic biomolecules with sulfate, phosphate, or carboxylate groups, resulting in better sensitivity than ultraviolet (UV)-MALDI MS. There was no substantial loss of sialic acid due to the prompt fragmentation occurring in IR-MALDI of sialylated glycoconjugates such as gangliosides. Furthermore, the advantage of the low photon energy of IR is that, for the first time, intact protonated molecules of S-nitrosylated peptides can be detected by MALDI MS. In the analysis of redox-sensitive molecules including methylene blue and riboflavin, reductive hydrogenation was minimal, suggesting few hydrogen radicals to have formed in the plume, in contrast to UV-MALDI. In conjunction with a potent new matrix, oxamide, requiring smaller laser fluence, distinct features of the 6 microm IR wavelength range are anticipated to remove one of the limitations of MALDI MS for biomolecular analysis.

Preparation and conformational analysis of C-glycosyl beta(2)- and beta/beta(2)-peptides.

Ten C-glycosyl beta(2)- and beta/beta(2)-peptides with three to eight amino acid residues have been prepared. Solution and solid-phase peptide syntheses were employed to assemble beta(2)-amino acids in which C-glycosylic substituents are attached to the C-2 position of beta-amino acids. Conformational analysis of the C-glycosyl beta(2)-peptides using NMR and CD spectra indicates that the tripeptide can form a helical secondary structure. Besides, helix directions of the C-glycosyl beta/beta(2)-peptides are governed by the configuration at the alpha-carbon of the peptide backbone that originates from the stereocenter of the C-glycosyl beta(2)-amino acids.

Experimental and theoretical study on gas-phase ion/molecule reactions of silver trimer cation, Ag3+, with 12-crown-4.

The reaction mechanisms of silver trimer cation, Ag3+, with 12-crown-4 (12C4) were studied experimentally and theoretically. Using a cylindrical ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometer, gas-phase ion/molecule reactions of Ag3+ with 12C4 were observed. Metal-ligand complexes of [Ag(12C4)]+, [Ag3(12C4)]+ and [Ag3(12C4)2]+, and of [Ag(12C4)2]+ and [Ag3(12C4)3]+, were observed as the reaction intermediates and terminal products, respectively. The formations of the [Ag12C4]+ and [Ag(12C4)2]+ complexes indicated that the neutral dimer (Ag2) had been eliminated from the trimer cation. From the results of ab initio calculations at the HF/LanL2DZ level of theory and the experiments, it is suggested that three 12C4 molecules can attach to Ag3+ through consecutive reactions and that neutral Ag2 can be easily eliminated from [Ag3(12C4)]+.