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New psychoactive substances (NPS) are synthetic derivatives of illicit drugs designed to mimic their psychoactive effects. NPS are typically not controlled under drug acts or their legal status depends on their molecular structure. Discriminating isomeric forms of NPS is therefore crucial for forensic laboratories. In this study, a trapped ion mobility spectrometry time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TIMS-TOFMS) approach was developed for the identification of ring-positional isomers of synthetic cathinones, a class of compounds representing two-third of all NPS seized in Europe in 2020. The optimized workflow features narrow ion-trapping regions, mobility calibration by internal reference, and a dedicated data-analysis tool, allowing for accurate relative ion-mobility assessment and high-confidence isomer identification. Ortho-, meta- and para-isomers of methylmethcathinone (MMC) and bicyclic ring isomers of methylone were assigned based on their specific ion mobilities within 5 min, including sample preparation and data analysis. The resolution of two distinct protomers per cathinone isomer added to the confidence in identification. The developed approach was successfully applied to the unambiguous assignment of MMC isomers in confiscated street samples. These findings demonstrate the potential of TIMS-TOFMS for forensic case work requiring fast and highly-confident assignment cathinone-drug isomers in confiscated samples.

Salinity gradient energy has gained attention in recent years as a renewable energy source, especially employing reverse electrodialysis technology (RED), which is based on the role of ion exchange membranes. In this context, many efforts have been developed by researchers from all over the world to advance the knowledge of this green source of energy. However, the influence of divalent ions on the performance of the technology has not been deeply studied. Basically, divalent ions are responsible for an increased membrane resistance and, therefore, for a decrease in voltage. This work focuses on the estimation of the resistance of the RED membrane working with water flows containing divalent ions, both theoretically by combining the one-thread model with the Donnan exclusion theory for the gel phase, as well as the experimental evaluation with Fumatech membranes FAS-50, FKS-50, FAS-PET-75, and FKS-PET-75. Furthermore, simulated results have been compared to data recently reported with different membranes. Besides, the influence of membrane resistance on the overall performance of reverse electrodialysis technology is evaluated to understand the impact of divalent ions in energy generation. Results reflect a minor effect of sulfate on the gross power in comparison to the effect of calcium and magnesium ions. Thus, this work takes a step forward in the knowledge of reverse electrodialysis technology and the extraction of salinity gradient energy by advancing the influence of divalent ions on energy recovery. The authors of this work would like to acknowledge the financial support from the LIFE program (LIFE19 ENV/ES/000143). The UC team wants to thank J.A. Abarca and F.J. Rodríguez-Oria for their help in impedance measurements and SGP-RED experiences. This work was also facilitated by REDstack BV in the Netherlands. REDstack BV aims to develop and market the ED and the RED technology. J.V. would like to thank his colleagues from the REDstack company for the fruitful discussions.

With the recent improvements in ion mobility resolution, it is now possible to separate small protomerictautomers, called protomers. In larger molecules above 1000 Dasuch as peptides, a few studies suggest that protomers do exist aswell and may contribute to their gas-phase conformationalheterogeneity. In this work, we observed a CCS distribution thatcan be explained by the presence of protomers of surfactin, a smalllipopeptide with no basic site. Following preliminary densityfunctional theoretical calculations, several protonation sites in thegas phase were energetically favorable in positive ionization mode.Experimentally, at least three near-resolved IM peaks wereobserved in positive ionization mode, while only one was detectedin negative ionization mode. These results were in good agreement with the DFT predictions. CID breakdown curve analysis afterIM separation showed different inflection points (CE50) suggesting that different intramolecular interactions were implied in thestabilization of the structures of surfactin. The fragment ratio observed after collision-induced fragmentation was also different,suggesting different ring-opening localizations. All these observations support the presence of protomers on the cyclic peptidemoieties of the surfactin. These data strongly suggest that protomeric tautomerism can still be observed on molecules above 1000 Daif the IM resolving power is sufficient. It also supports that the proton localization involves a change in the 3D structure that can affect the experimental CCS and the fragmentation channels of such peptides

The synthetic chemicals in food contact materials can migrate into food and endanger human health. In this study, the traveling wave collision cross section in nitrogen values of more than 400 chemicals in food contact materials were experimentally derived by traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry. A support vector machine-based collision cross section (CCS) prediction model was developed based on CCS values of food contact chemicals and a series of molecular descriptors. More than 92% of protonated and 81% of sodiated adducts showed a relative deviation below 5%. Median relative errors for protonated and sodiated molecules were 1.50 and 1.82%, respectively. The model was then applied to the structural annotation of oligomers migrating from polyamide adhesives. The identification confidence of 11 oligomers was improved by the direct comparison of the experimental data with the predicted CCS values. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of current machine-learning models on CCS prediction were also discussed. © 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

International audience; Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) currently represent the main class of therapeutic proteins. mAbs approved by regulatory agencies are selected from IgG1, IgG2, and IgG4 subclasses, which possess different interchain disulfide connectiv-ities. Ion mobility coupled to native mass spectrometry (IM-MS) has emerged as a valuable approach to tackle the challenging characterization of mAbs' higher order structures. However, due to the limited resolution of first-generation IM-MS instruments, subtle conformational differences on large proteins have long been hard to capture. Recent technological developments have aimed at increasing available IM resolving powers and acquisition mode capabilities, namely, through the release of high-resolution IM-MS (HR-IM-MS) instruments, like cyclic IM-MS (cIM-MS). Here, we outline the advantages and drawbacks of cIM-MS for better conformational characterization of intact mAbs (similar to 150 kDa) in native conditions compared to first-generation instruments. We first assessed the extent to which multipass cIM-MS experiments could improve the separation of mAbs' conformers. These initial results evidenced some limitations of HR-IM-MS for large native biomolecules which possess rich conformational landscapes that remain challenging to decipher even with higher IM resolving powers. Conversely, for collision-induced unfolding (CIU) approaches, higher resolution proved to be particularly useful (i) to reveal new unfolding states and (ii) to enhance the separation of coexisting activated states, thus allowing one to apprehend gas-phase CIU behaviors of mAbs directly at the intact level. Altogether, this study offers a first panoramic overview of the capabilities of cIM-MS for therapeutic mAbs, paving the way for more widespread HR-IM-MS/CIU characterization of mAb-derived formats.

In recent years machine learning has made extensive progress in modeling many aspects of mass spectrometry data. We brought together proteomics data generators, repository managers, and machine learning experts in a workshop with the goals to evaluate and explore machine learning applications for realistic modeling of data from multidimensional mass spectrometry-based proteomics analysis of any sample or organism. Following this sample-to-data roadmap helped identify knowledge gaps and define needs. Being able to generate bespoke and realistic synthetic data has legitimate and important uses in system suitability, method development, and algorithm benchmarking, while also posing critical ethical questions. The interdisciplinary nature of the workshop informed discussions of what is currently possible and future opportunities and challenges. In the following perspective we summarize these discussions in the hope of conveying our excitement about the potential of machine learning in proteomics and to inspire future research.

Aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) have different steroid profiles in serum, depending on the causative genetic mutation. Ion mobility is a separation technique for gas-phase ions based on their m/z values, shapes, and sizes. Human serum (100 µL) was purified by liquid–liquid extraction using tert-butyl methyl ether/ethyl acetate at 1/1 (v/v) and mixed with deuterium-labeled steroids as the internal standard. The separated supernatant was dried, re-dissolved in water containing 20% methanol, and injected into a liquid chromatography–ion mobility–mass spectrometer (LC/IM/MS). We established a highly sensitive assay system by separating 20 steroids based on their retention time, m/z value, and drift time. Twenty steroids were measured in the serum of patients with primary aldosteronism, essential hypertension, and healthy subjects and were clearly classified using principal component analysis. This method was also able to detect phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, which were not targeted. LC/IM/MS has a high selectivity for known compounds and has the potential to provide information on unknown compounds. This analytical method has the potential to elucidate the pathogenesis of APA and identify unknown steroids that could serve as biomarkers for APA with different genetic mutations.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and identification of robust biomarkers to complement clinical diagnosis will accelerate treatment options. Here we demonstrate the use of direct infusion of sebum from skin swabs using paper spray ionisation coupled with ion mobility mass spectrometry (PS-IM-MS) to determine the regulation of molecular classes of lipids in sebum that are diagnostic of PD. A PS-IM-MS method for sebum samples that takes three minutes per swab was developed and optimised. The method was applied to skin swabs collected from 150 people and elucidates ~ 4200 features from each subject which were independently analysed. The data included high molecular weight lipids (>600 Da.) that differ significantly in the sebum of people with PD. Putative metabolite annotations of several lipid classes, predominantly triglycerides and larger acyl glycerides, were obtained using accurate mass, tandem mass spectrometry and collision cross section measurements.

Negative ion collision-induced dissociation (CID) of underivatized N-glycans has proved to be a simple, yet powerful method for their structural determination. Recently, we have identified a series of such structures with GalNAc rather than the more common galactose capping the antennae of hybrid and complex glycans. As part of a series of publications describing the negative ion fragmentation of different types of N-glycan, this paper describes their CID spectra and estimated nitrogen cross sections recorded by travelling wave ion mobility mass spectrometry (TWIMS). Most of the glycans were derived from the recombinant glycoproteins gp120 and gp41 from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), recombinantly derived from human embryonic kidney (HEK 293T) cells. Twenty-six GalNAc-capped hybrid and complex N-glycans were identified by a combination of TWIMS, negative ion CID, and exoglycosidase digestions. They were present as the neutral glycans and their sulfated and α2→3-linked sialylated analogues. Overall, negative ion fragmentation of glycans generates fingerprints that reveal their structural identity.

Chiral magnetic materials are proposed for applications in second‐order non‐linear optics, magneto‐chiral dichroism, among others. Recently, we have reported a set of tetra‐nuclear Fe(II) grid complex conformers with general formula C/S‐[Fe4L4]8+ (L: 2,6‐bis(6‐(pyrazol‐1‐yl)pyridin‐2‐yl)‐1,5‐dihydrobenzo[1,2‐d : 4,5‐d′]diimidazole). In the grid complexes, isomerism emerges from tautomerism and conformational isomerism of the ligand L, and the S‐type grid complex is chiral, which originates from different non‐centrosymmetric spatial organization of the trans type ligand around the Fe(II) center. However, the selective preparation of an enantiomerically pure grid complex in a controlled manner is difficult due to spontaneous self‐assembly. To achieve the pre‐synthesis programmable resolution of Fe(II) grid complexes, we designed and synthesized two novel intrinsically chiral ligands by appending chiral moieties to the parent ligand. The complexation of these chiral ligands with Fe(II) salt resulted in the formation of enantiomerically pure Fe(II) grid complexes, as unambiguously elucidated by CD and XRD studies. The enantiomeric complexes exhibited similar gradual and half‐complete thermal and photo‐induced SCO characteristics. The good agreement between the experimentally obtained and calculated CD spectra further supports the enantiomeric purity of the complexes and even the magnetic studies. The chiral resolution of Fe(II)‐ [2×2] grid complexes reported in this study, for the first time, might enable the fabrication of magneto‐chiral molecular devices., The trans ‐type ligand wrapping around the metal centers in an inter‐woven style makes the complex to be in chiral. This separation of Λ and Δ forms of spin‐crossover isomers was successfully achieved by appending the chiral moiety onto the parent ligand. The presence of spin‐crossover and chirality makes these multifunctional complexes intriguing for the study of magneto‐optical effects.

This contribution aims at analysing the current understanding about the influence of Al distribution, zeolite topology, ligands/reagents and oxidation state on ions mobility in Cu-zeolites, and its relevance toward reactivity of the metal sites. The concept of Cu mobilization has been originally observed in the presence of ammonia, favouring the activation of oxygen by formation of NH3 oxo-bridged complexes in zeolites and opening a new perspective about the chemistry in single-site zeolite-based catalysts, in particular in the context of the NH3-mediated Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx (NH3-SCR) processes. A different mobility of bare Cu+/Cu2+ ions has been documented too, showing for Cu+ a better mobilization than for Cu2+ also in absence of ligands. These concepts can have important consequences for the formation of Cu-oxo species, active and selective in other relevant reactions, such as the direct conversion of methane to methanol. Here, assessing the structure, the formation pathways and reactivity of Cu-oxo mono- or multimeric moieties still represents a challenging playground for chemical scientists. Translating the knowledge about Cu ions mobility and redox properties acquired in the context of NH3-SCR reaction into the field of direct conversion of methane to methanol can have important implications for a better understanding of transition metal ions redox properties in zeolites and for an improved design of catalysts and catalytic processes.

Mass spectrometry is uniquely suited to identify and quantify environmentally relevant molecules and molecular clusters. Mass spectrometry alone is, however, not able to distinguish between isomers. In this study, we demonstrate the use of both an experimental set-up using a differential mobility analyser, and computational ion mobility calculations for identification of isomers. In the experimental set-up, we combined electrospray ionisation with a differential mobility analyser time-of-flight mass spectrometer to separate environmentally relevant constitutional isomers, such as catechol, resorcinol and hydroquinone, and configurational isomers, such as cyclohexanediols and fatty acids (i.e., oleic and elaidic acids). Computational ion mobility predictions were obtained using the Ion Mobility Software (IMoS) program. We find that isomer separation can be achieved with the differential mobility analyser, while for catechol, resorcinol and hydroquinone, the computational predictions can reproduce the experimental order of the ion mobilities between the isomers, confirming the isomer identification. Our experimental set-up allows analysis both in the gas and liquid phase. The differential mobility analyser can, moreover, be combined with any mass spectrometry set-up, making it a versatile tool for the separation of isomers.

Graphical abstract The position and configuration of carbon-carbon double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids is crucial for their biological functions and influences health and disease. However, double bond isomers are not routinely distinguished by classical mass spectrometry workflows. Instead, they require sophisticated analytical approaches usually based on chemical derivatization and/or instrument modification. In this work, a novel strategy to investigate fatty acid double bond isomers (18:1) without prior chemical treatment or modification of the ion source was implemented by non-covalent adduct formation in the gas phase. Fatty acid adducts with sodium, pyridinium, trimethylammonium, dimethylammonium, and ammonium cations were characterized by a combination of cryogenic gas-phase infrared spectroscopy, ion mobility-mass spectrometry, and computational modeling. The results reveal subtle differences between double bond isomers and confirm three-dimensional geometries constrained by non-covalent ion-molecule interactions. Overall, this study on fatty acid adducts in the gas phase explores new avenues for the distinction of lipid double bond isomers and paves the way for further investigations of coordinating cations to increase resolution. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00216-021-03334-3.

Analytical techniques, such as liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), are widely used for characterization of complex mixtures of (isomeric) proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and phytochemicals in food. Food can contain isomers that are challenging to separate, but can possess different reactivity and bioactivity. Catechins are the main phenolic compounds in tea; they can be present as various stereoisomers, which differ in their chemical properties. Currently, there is a lack of fast and direct methods to monitor interconversion and individual reactivity of these epimers (e.g. epicatechin (EC) and catechin (C)). In this study, cyclic ion mobility mass spectrometry (cIMS-MS) was explored as a potential tool for the separation of catechin epimers. Formation of sodium and lithium adducts enhanced IMS separation of catechin epimers, compared to deprotonation and protonation. Baseline separation of the sodium adducts of catechin epimers was achieved. Moreover, we developed a fast method for the identification and semi-quantification of cIMS-MS separated catechin epimers. With this method, it is possible to semi-quantify the ratio between EC and C (1:5 to 5:1, within 50–1200 ng mL−1) in food samples, such as tea. Finally, the newly developed approach for cIMS-MS separation of flavonoids was demonstrated to be successful in separation of two sets of positional isomers (i.e. morin, tricetin, and quercetin; and kaempferol, fisetin, luteolin, and scutellarein). To conclude, we showed that both epimers and positional isomers of flavonoids can be separated using cIMS-MS, and established the potential of this method for challenging flavonoid separations.

The separation and discrete detection of isomeric sequence peptides with similar properties are important tasks for analytical science. Three different peptide isomers of 12 amino-acid residues long, containing direct and reverse regions of the alanine-valine-proline-isoleucine (AVPI) motif, were partially separated and discretely detected from their mixture using two approaches. Capillary electrophoresis enabled the separation and optical detection of the peptide sequence isomers close to the baseline. The ability to separate these sequence isomers from the mixture and discretely identify them from mass spectra has also been demonstrated by ion-mobility tandem mass spectrometry. Moreover, for the first time, capillary electrophoresis and ion-mobility mass spectrometry connected online have shown their ability for a discrete detection of the multidirectional sequence isomers.

Bile acids are steroid compounds involved in biological mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases making them potential biomarkers for diagnosis or treatment. These compounds exist as structural and conformational isomers, which hinder distinguishing them in physiological processes. We aimed to develop tandem mass spectrometry-ion mobility spectrometry (MS/MS-IMS) methodologies to explore and understand the behaviour of isomeric steroids in the gas-phase and rapidly separate them. Unlike previously published ion mobility data, various isomers were investigated in mixtures to better mimic complex (pre-) clinical samples. The experimental collision cross sections (CCS)s were compared to the theoretical CCS values for an in-depth analysis of isomeric ions' behaviour in the gas-phase. Based on density-functional theory, we identified the impact of adduct positioning on the 3D conformation of enantiomers, diastereomers and structural isomers. The curling of the large side chains hedged the small differences among the isomers and lowered the CCS values. On the other hand, fragmenting off the identical side branches as well as imposing the bending of the steroid ring resulted in ion mobility differentiation. Careful data evaluation revealed the tendency of isomers to form homo-cluster in the mixture solutions and assist the separation. Our fundamental and experimental findings enable the ion mobility separation of isomeric steroids to be predicted. The introduced rapid and optimal MS/MS-IMS analytical methodology can be applied to distinguish isomeric bile acids both in a solution and potentially in patients' tissue samples, and consequently, reveal their molecular pathways.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare systemic autoimmune disorder marked by high morbidity and increased risk of mortality. Our study aimed to analyze metabolomic profiles of plasma from SSc patients by using targeted and untargeted metabolomics approaches. Furthermore, we aimed to detect biochemical mechanisms relevant to the pathophysiology of SSc. Experiments were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry technology. The investigation of plasma samples from SSc patients (n = 52) compared to a control group (n = 48) allowed us to identify four different dysfunctional metabolic mechanisms, which can be assigned to the kynurenine pathway, the urea cycle, lipid metabolism, and the gut microbiome. These significantly altered metabolic pathways are associated with inflammation, vascular damage, fibrosis, and gut dysbiosis and might be relevant for the pathophysiology of SSc. Further studies are needed to explore the role of these metabolomic networks as possible therapeutic targets of SSc.

In structural biology, collision cross sections (CCSs) from ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) measurements are routinely compared to computationally or experimentally derived protein structures. Here, we investigate whether CCS data can inform about the shape of a protein in the absence of specific reference structures. Analysis of the proteins in the CCS database shows that protein complexes with low apparent densities are structurally more diverse than those with a high apparent density. Although assigning protein shapes purely on CCS data is not possible, we find that we can distinguish oblate- and prolate-shaped protein complexes by using the CCS, molecular weight, and oligomeric states to mine the Protein Data Bank (PDB) for potentially similar protein structures. Furthermore, comparing the CCS of a ferritin cage to the solution structures in the PDB reveals significant deviations caused by structural collapse in the gas phase. We then apply the strategy to an integral membrane protein by comparing the shapes of a prokaryotic and a eukaryotic sodium/proton antiporter homologue. We conclude that mining the PDB with IM-MS data is a time-effective way to derive low-resolution structural models.

The immune scavenger protein DC‐SIGN interacts with glycosylated proteins and has a putative role in facilitating viral infection. How these recognition events take place with different viruses is not clear and the effects of glycosylation on the folding and stability of DC‐SIGN have not been reported. Herein, we report the development and application of a mass‐spectrometry‐based approach to both uncover and characterise the effects of O‐glycans on the stability of DC‐SIGN. We first quantify the Core 1 and 2 O‐glycan structures on the carbohydrate recognition and extracellular domains of the protein using sequential exoglycosidase sequencing. Using ion mobility mass spectrometry, we show how specific O‐glycans, and/or single monosaccharide substitutions, alter both the overall collision cross section and the gas‐phase stability of the DC‐SIGN isoforms. We find that rather than the mass or length of glycoprotein modifications, the stability of DC‐SIGN is better correlated with the number of glycosylation sites., Uncovering stability of DC‐SIGN glycoforms with native mass spectrometry: A combined strategy of exoglycosidase sequencing, native mass spectrometry, ion mobility, and gas‐phase unfolding uncovered the occupancy and structural detail of O‐glycans present on the carbohydrate binding domain of DC‐SIGN. Collision‐induced unfolding by ion mobility revealed differences in stability among glycoforms, independent of glycoprotein mass.

Being able to probe electrolyte structures and ion mobility in nanometer confined cavities/pores is central for the fundamental understanding and steering of various processes in biologic and material systems. Here, we review how force probe experiments were utilized for studying interfacial physics at solid/liquid/solid interfaces. We discuss recent technological achievements and show how micro-to-nano and ultimately subnanometer confinement can be achieved and probed using the surface forces apparatus. We discuss ion-mobility and structuring in confined spaces during reactive and nonreactive conditions. This includes ion-layering and confinement induced effects, such as enhanced reactivity, decreased ion-mobility, electric double layer overlapping and more. We limit the discussion to electrochemical and ionic liquid systems, yet we discuss the broader perspective how to develop the technique further, and how recent advances can already find new exciting applications, across sometimes unexpected fields. These range from studying physiologic processes to technologic application in catalysis, microfluidics, or geology.

A rapid reversed-phase gradient method employing a 50 mm × 1 mm i.d., C18 microbore column, combined with ion mobility and high-resolution mass spectrometry, was applied to the metabolic phenotyping of urine samples obtained from rats receiving different diets. This method was directly compared to a “conventional” method employing a 150 × 2.1 mm i.d. column packed with the same C18 bonded phase using the same samples. Multivariate statistical analysis of the resulting data showed similar class discrimination for both microbore and conventional methods, despite the detection of fewer mass/retention time features by the former. Multivariate statistical analysis highlighted a number of ions that represented diet-specific markers in the samples. Several of these were then identified using the combination of mass, ion-mobility-derived collision cross section and retention time including N-acetylglutamate, urocanic acid, and xanthurenic acid. Kynurenic acid was tentatively identified based on mass and ion mobility data.

The high levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in cell membranes within the brain have led to a number of studies exploring its function. These studies have shown that DHA can reduce inflammatory responses in microglial cells. However, the method of action is poorly understood. Here, we report the effects of DHA on microglial cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). Data were acquired using the parallel accumulation serial fragmentation method in a hybrid trapped ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Over 2800 proteins are identified using label-free quantitative proteomics. Cells exposed to LPSs and/or DHA resulted in changes in cell morphology and expression of 49 proteins with differential abundance (greater than 1.5-fold change). The data provide details about pathways that are influenced in this system including the nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of the activated B cells (NF-κB) pathway. Western blots and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay studies are used to help confirm the proteomic results. The MS data are available at ProteomeXchange.

Atmosphere ion mobility is an important electrical parameter related to the filamentary ion flow field of high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines and other characteristics of the glow and streamer corona discharge. Many machine learning (ML)-based algorithms have already been widely used in the prediction of air discharge. This article proposes a genetic algorithm (GA)-support vector regression (SVR) combined with kernel principal components analysis (PCA) to predict the ion mobility, involving dimensionality reduction, feature selection, parameter optimization of SVR. Kernel PCA could reduce the dimension of data and GA with adaptive probability parameters is employed to optimize the parameters of SVR model. An improved parallel-plates ion generator is employed to produce corona discharge and then measure the saturation ion current density and then obtain the training data and testing data of ion mobility. The prediction results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the other methods in terms of mean relative error and mean squared error criteria. In addition, the parameters of model and data features have a major influence on the performance of the prediction algorithm. Based on the measured data and reference data, the prediction result obtained on ion mobility under different humidity shows a satisfactory generalization and effectiveness of proposed model for the prediction.

Oil-paper insulation is the main insulating medium of converter transformers. Space charge can result in the distortion of electric field in oil-paper insulation, hence it's necessary to analyze the space charge transport characteristic and its influence on the oil-paper insulation. In the paper, the space charge transport characteristic considering the electric field is investigated, and an upstream finite element method is presented to calculate the space charge distribution in oil insulation of converter transformer considering the influence of injection barrier, ion mobility, trapped coefficient and carrier recombination coefficient. Finally, the insulation state of tortuous oil-path is evaluated. Experiments were conducted to analyze the relationship between ion mobility and electric field intensity, the results indicate that the influence of space charge on the electric field intensity in the tortuous oil-path can not be ignored for the design of converter transformer.

Integrative structural biology employs not only high-resolution techniques for the determination of the structure of biomolecules. Information about dynamical and heterogeneous assemblies is hardly achievable with conventional approaches. Therefore, low-resolution techniques are being utilized. As mass spectrometry (MS) is sensitive, specific, and versatile, there are a lot of structural techniques based on MS established. Native mass spectrometry is an approach that uses non-denaturing solvents for nanoelectrospray ionization, thus preserving tertiary and quaternary structures in the gas phase. Therefore, information on the composition of native biomolecules is obtained. Moreover, employing ion mobility (IM-MS) also provides structural insight. Using MS, we can directly analyze biomolecules perturbation, such as by variable-temperature nanoelectrospray ionization (vT-nESI). The aim of this master's thesis was to characterize the thermal stability of the protein-DNA complexes of TEAD1 and FOXO4 transcription factors DNA-binding domains. Complexes were studied using native MS and IM-MS employing an in-house developed vT-nESI source. First, vT-nESI was used to determine the melting temperatures of double-stranded DNA, which were in correspondence with those theoretically calculated and experimentally...

The assembly of proteins and peptides into amyloid fibrilsis causally linked to serious disorders such as Alzheimer’sdisease. Multiple proteins have been shown to preventamyloid formation in vitro and in vivo, ranging from highlyspecific chaperone–client pairs to completely nonspecificbinding of aggregation-prone peptides. The underlyinginteractions remain elusive. Here, we turn to the machinelearning–based structure prediction algorithm AlphaFold2to obtain models for the nonspecific interactions ofβ-lactoglobulin, transthyretin, or thioredoxin 80 with themodel amyloid peptide amyloid β and the highly specificcomplex between the BRICHOS chaperone domain ofC-terminal region of lung surfactant protein C and itspolyvaline target. Using a combination of native massspectrometry (MS) and ion mobility MS, we show thatnonspecific chaperoning is driven predominantly by hy-drophobic interactions of amyloid β with hydrophobicsurfaces in β-lactoglobulin, transthyretin, and thioredoxin80, and in part regulated by oligomer stability. For C-ter-minal region of lung surfactant protein C, native MS andhydrogen–deuterium exchange MS reveal that a disor-dered region recognizes the polyvaline target by forming acomplementary β-strand. Hence, we show that Alpha-Fold2 and MS can yield atomistic models of hard-to-capture protein interactions that reveal differentchaperoning mechanisms based on separate ligandproperties and may provide possible clues for specifictherapeutic intervention. The assembly of proteins and peptides into amyloid fibrils is causally linked to serious disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Multiple proteins have been shown to prevent amyloid formation in vitro and in vivo, ranging from highly specific chaperone–client pairs to completely nonspecific binding of aggregation-prone peptides. The underlying interactions remain elusive. Here, we turn to the machine learning–based structure prediction algorithm AlphaFold2 to obtain models for the nonspecific interactions of β-lactoglobulin, transthyretin, or thioredoxin 80 with the model amyloid peptide amyloid β and the highly specific complex between the BRICHOS chaperone domain of C-terminal region of lung surfactant protein C and its polyvaline target. Using a combination of native mass spectrometry (MS) and ion mobility MS, we show that nonspecific chaperoning is driven predominantly by hydrophobic interactions of amyloid β with hydrophobic surfaces in β-lactoglobulin, transthyretin, and thioredoxin 80, and in part regulated by oligomer stability. For C-terminal region of lung surfactant protein C, native MS and hydrogen–deuterium exchange MS reveal that a disordered region recognizes the polyvaline target by forming a complementary β-strand. Hence, we show that AlphaFold2 and MS can yield atomistic models of hard-to-capture protein interactions that reveal different chaperoning mechanisms based on separate ligand properties and may provide possible clues for specific therapeutic intervention.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Gas-phase ion/ion covalent modification was coupled to ion mobility/mass spectrometry analysis to directly correlate the structure of gaseous ubiquitin to its solution structures with selective covalent structural probes. Collision cross-section (CCS) distributions were measured prior to ion/ion reactions to ensure the ubiquitin ions were not unfolded when they were introduced to the gas phase. Ubiquitin ions were electrosprayed from aqueous and methanolic solutions yielding a range of different charge states that were analyzed by ion mobility and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Aqueous solutions stabilizing the native state of ubiquitin generated folded ubiquitin structures with CCS values consistent with the native state. Denaturing solutions favored several families of unfolded conformations for most of the charge states evaluated. Gas-phase covalent labeling via ion/ion reactions was followed by collision-induced dissociation of the intact, labeled protein to determine which residues were labeled. Ubiquitin 5+ and 6+ electrosprayed from aqueous solutions were covalently modified preferentially at the lysine 29 and arginine 54 residues, indicating that elements of secondary structure, as well as tertiary structure, were maintained in the gas phase. On the other hand, most ubiquitin ions produced in denaturing conditions were labeled at various other lysine residues, likely due to the availability of additional sites following methanol and low pH-induced unfolding. These data support the conservation of ubiquitin structural elements in the gas phase. The research presented here provides the basis for residue-specific characterization of biomolecules in the gas phase.

Lipids are involved in many biological processes and their study is constantly increasing. To identify a lipid among thousand requires of reliablemethods and techniques. Ion Mobility (IM) can be coupled with Mass Spectrometry (MS) to increase analytical selectivity in lipid analysis of lipids. IM-MS has experienced an enormous development in several aspects, including instrumentation, sensitivity, amount of information collected and lipid identification capabilities. This review summarizes the latest developments in IM-MS analyses for lipidomics and focuses on the current acquisition modes in IM-MS, the approaches for the pre-treatment of the acquired data and the subsequent data analysis.Methods and tools for the calculation of Collision Cross Section (CCS) values of analytes are also reviewed. CCS values are commonly studied to support the identification of lipids, providing a quasi-orthogonal property that increases the confidence level in the annotation of compounds and can be matched in CCS databases. The information contained in this review might be of help to new users of IM-MS to decide the adequate instrumentation and software to perform IM-MS experiments for lipid analyses, but also for other experienced researchers that can reconsider their routines and protocols. Acuerdo Transformativo - 2022

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare systemic autoimmune disorder marked by high morbidity and increased risk of mortality. Our study aimed to analyze metabolomic profiles of plasma from SSc patients by using targeted and untargeted metabolomics approaches. Furthermore, we aimed to detect biochemical mechanisms relevant to the pathophysiology of SSc. Experiments were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry technology. The investigation of plasma samples from SSc patients (n = 52) compared to a control group (n = 48) allowed us to identify four different dysfunctional metabolic mechanisms, which can be assigned to the kynurenine pathway, the urea cycle, lipid metabolism, and the gut microbiome. These significantly altered metabolic pathways are associated with inflammation, vascular damage, fibrosis, and gut dysbiosis and might be relevant for the pathophysiology of SSc. Further studies are needed to explore the role of these metabolomic networks as possible therapeutic targets of SSc. Version of record

Observing the curing reaction of epoxy resins is a key to quality assurance in fibre composite production. The evaluation of electrical impedance spectra is an established monitoring method. Such impedance spectra contain the physical effects of dipole relaxation, ionic conduction and electrode polarisation, which shift to lower frequencies as curing progresses. In the early stage of the curing reaction, ionic conductivity and electrode polarisation dominate, and in the later stage of the curing reaction, dipole relaxation dominates. Due to the shift of the effects over several frequency decades, it makes sense to evaluate electrical impedance spectra not exclusively at one frequency but over an entire available frequency spectrum. The measured spectral raw data cannot be easily interpreted by a control algorithm and have to be mapped to simpler key indicators. For this purpose, a frequency-dependent model is proposed to address the aforementioned physical effects. With only five free parameters, measured spectra can be described with a relative error of only 2.3%. The shift of the occurring effects to lower frequencies necessitates switching the key indicator used in the progression of the cure reaction.

Aim: The aim of this paper is to present ion mobility spectrometry as a method for the local detection of chemical contaminants. Introduction: According to the doctrine currently in force in the Military Forces of the Republic of Poland, contamination reconnaissance is the action aimed at identifying the occurrence of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents or the presence of a CBRN agent in the environment. It involves observation, detection and specific contamination reconnaissance. Observation is the systematic tracking of the airspace, ground areas, people, animals and materials. Devices of visual, sound, electronic and photographic observation or other devices enabling the identification of a CBRN incident or the presence of a CBRN agent in the environment are used for that purpose. Detection is the action aimed at confirming the occurrence of a CBRN incident or the presence of a CBRN agent in the environment while specific reconnaissance is the action taken to specify the type and level of contaminants in the area once the occurrence of a CBRN incident or the presence of a CBRN agent in the environment is confirmed. Contamination reconnaissance should be prepared and performed as appropriate to the threat level. Moreover, the equipment and operating procedures employed to that end should ensure immediate alerts on the presence of CBRN agents. The current technological advancement of equipment used by fire brigades requires that fire and rescue operations take into account the careful identification of threats which may be present during the operation. The necessity for carrying out reconnaissance results from the nature of buildings under fire. While preparing measures for fighting fires of dangerous chemicals present at a given location and their properties, one should take into account chemical weapon agents (CWAs), toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), explosives, gases creating flammable or self-igniting mixtures, radioactive sources, etc. Conclusions: Contamination threats in the territory of the Republic of Poland are on an upward trend. The entities included in the National System of Contamination Detection and Alerting should be prepared, in both technical and procedural terms, for conducting reconnaissance and initial identification of contaminants at the place of their occurrence. The system is equipped with devices using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). According to global trends, these devices should be successively replaced with solutions characterised by better sensitivity and selectivity. New devices could be based on differential mobility spectrometry (DMS). This solution should apply to portable and transportable instruments. The application of new technical solutions should be accompanied by the unification of the system in the area of contamination reconnaissance and the creation of cooperation plans, and this would have a significant impact on the safety of people and infrastructure.

Mobilization and stratification of ions and moisture in post-tensioned tendons during grout hydration can create adverse conditions which can promote corrosion. The transport of sulfate and chloride ions associated with grout segregation in large-scale tendon mockups was assessed. The grout was mixed with 15 % excess water over the manufacturers recommended limit to promote segregation and with different sulfate and chloride concentrations. The moisture content and both sulfate and chloride ion concentrations in the grout from the top sections of the tendons were significantly higher than grout from lower elevations. An ion-concentration factor (ICF) was defined as the ratio of the ion concentration in the leachate produced from the hydrated grout and the initial concentration in the grout mix water. The ion mobility in relation to moisture was analyzed in terms of the sulfate and chloride ions and their interactions with the solid and liquid phases during grout hydration.

Identification of polysaccharides is not a straightforward task due to the high degree of stereochemistry present in their isobaric monomers. Their isobaric nature causes traditional mass spectrometry to fall short when trying to differentiate not only the conformation of the monomers but the position of the glycosidic bonds that bind them. This structural information is important for biochemists as they study the role of different glycans in biological processes. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allows the study of the fragment ions formed during collision induced dissociation (CID), the fragments formed depend on the structure and stability of the precursor molecule and can be used to identify the compounds. These fragmentation pathways will be as complex as the species that form them. To date, typical saccharide fragments are separated into three groups that represent the major fragments: Cross-ring cleavages (A/X), and those resulting from cleaving different sides of the glycosidic bond (B/Y) and (C/Z). Ion mobility separation (IMS) has shown to have some success at discerning polysaccharide conformers and those of other biopolymers such as proteins and polynucleotides. Ion mobility separates gas-phase ions by colliding them with non-reactive gases and relating respective increase in flight time to their collision cross-section (CCS). In this study, the relative energetics of the first steps of the cross-ring cleavage and both glycosidic bond cleavage channels for isomaltotriose [glc(��1-6)glc(��1-6)glc] as well as a minor water loss channel were explored using density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-31+g(d) level of theory. It was demonstrated that charge-remote mechanisms are a viable alternative to charge-directed mechanisms when under the high energy short time scale conditions present during an ESI-MS/MS experiment. To verify the efficiency of ion mobility for isomeric separation, the relative experimental CCS of isomaltotriose [glc(��1-6)glc(��1-6)glc], maltotriose [glc(��1-4)glc(��1-4)glc], panose [glc(��1-6)glc(��1-4)glc] and raffinose [gal(��1-6)glc(��1-2)fru] were determined by comparison with literature CCS values for dextran, a variable-length oligomer of ��1-6 linked glucose was used as an external calibrant. The experimental CCS of the precursor ions were compared to literature values when available as well as the calculated effective values of the optimized DFT geometries using the trajectory method of the MOBCAL computational suite. As phosphate is often used as an adducting agent to increase the intensity of the precursor ion when running an IMS experiment, the effect of its presence on the fragmentation of isomaltotriose and large isomaltooligosaccharides was studied. It was seen that depending on the location of the phosphate ion, it will preferentially dissociate leaving behind a neutral glycan. This explains the low abundance of fragment ions observed when selecting a phosphate-adducted precursor ion during an MS/MS experiment. IMS and MS-MS are complementary methods that can be used to identify monomers within a polysaccharide and how they are bound.

Metabolomics is an increasingly employed approach in many fields such as clinical diagnostic, human health or other biological issues. It is either an untargeted approach through metabolomics fingerprints of a complex sample or a targeted method to follow one or a set of metabolites of interest. Nevertheless, the latter method remains complicated due to the high number of metabolites with very varying structure to be identified. Even if chromatographic separation is most often employed, such as liquid chromatography (LC), many isomers and isobars remain unresolved. To try to overcome this issue, this thesis project proposes an approach using ion mobility (IM) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) and a direct introduction as an alternative technique to LC/MS. A trapped ion mobility cell (TIMS) coupled with a time-of-flight (TOF) was employed for our work. This ion mobility cell has the advantage of having an adjustable resolving power and being able to achieve high resolution mobility. We first evaluated the TIMS-TOF instrumentation capacity to separate isomer compounds in a complex matrix with two families of standards: estradiol derivatives in human urine and oligosaccharides in breastmilk. All the studied isomers were separated through variable analytical solutions and the mobility separation is not or only slightly impacted by the complex matrix. We then created a CCS (Collisional Cross Section) database from metabolite standards in order to improve the identification step. The final library contains more than 1300 TIMSCCSN2 values corresponding to more than 400 metabolites. The comparison between our database and 3 others from the literature and produced on a DTIMS cell shows a good correlation but the best is obtained for the databases produced on a single-field DTIMS instrument calibrated with the same calibration solution as ours, indicating the importance of the calibration step in determining the CCS values.; Les études métabolomiques sont de plus en plus employées dans de nombreux domaines tels que le diagnostic clinique, la santé humaine ou d'autres questionnements biologiques. Ces études utilisent soit des approches non-ciblées par prises d'empreintes d'un échantillon complexe soit des méthodes qui ciblent un ou plusieurs métabolites d'intérêt. Cependant, ces dernières restent difficiles en raison du nombre important de composés de structures différentes à identifier. Bien qu'une séparation chromatographique (LC) soit souvent employée, de nombreux composés isomères et isobares restent non résolus. Afin d'essayer de répondre à ce problème, cette thèse propose une approche par mobilité ionique (IM) couplée à la spectrométrie de masse (MS) en introduction directe comme technique alternative à la LC/MS. Une cellule de type "trapped ion mobility" (TIMS) a été utilisée en couplage avec un temps-de-vol (TOF) pour ces travaux de thèse. Cette cellule de mobilité présente l'avantage de pouvoir régler son pouvoir de résolution selon les expériences à mener et d'atteindre une haute résolution en mobilité. Nous avons, tout d'abord, évaluer la capacité de l'instrumentation TIMS-TOF à séparer des isomères en matrice complexe sur deux familles de standards : les dérivés d'estradiol dans une urine humaine et les oligosaccharides du lait maternel. Tous les isomères étudiées ont pu être caractérisés grâce à différentes solutions analytiques et la séparation en mobilité n'est pas ou peu impactée par la matrice complexe. Nous avons, ensuite, créer une base de données de valeurs CCS (Collisional Cross Section) à partir de métabolites standards afin d'améliorer l'étape d'identification structurale. La librairie finale contient plus de 1300 valeurs TIMSCCSN2 correspondant à plus de 400 métabolites. La comparaison de notre base de données avec 3 autres bases issues de la littérature et produites sur une cellule DTIMS montre une bonne corrélation mais la meilleure est obtenue pour les bases de données produites sur un instrument DTIMS calibré avec la même solution que nous, montrant l'importance de l'étape de calibration dans la détermination des valeurs CCS.

Many experimental studies have proved that ion dynamics in a single-digit nanopore with dimensions comparable to the Debye length deviate from the bulk values, but we still have critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of ion transport in nanoconfinement. For many energy devices and sensor designs of nanoporous materials, ion mobility is a key parameter for the performance of nanofluidic equipment. However, investigating ion mobility remains an experimental challenge. This study experimentally investigated the monovalent ion dynamics of single-digit nanopores from the perspective of ionic conductance. In this article, we present a theory that is sufficient for a basic understanding of ion transport through a single-digit nanopore, and we subdivided and separately analyzed the contribution of each conductance component. These conclusions will be useful not only in understanding the behavior of ion migration but also in the design of high-performance nanofluidic devices.

Recent advances in efficiency and ease of implementation have rekindled interest in ion mobility spectrometry, a technique that separates gas phase ions by their size and shape and that can be hybridized with conventional LC and MS. Here, we review the recent development of trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) coupled to TOF mass analysis. In particular, the parallel accumulation–serial fragmentation (PASEF) operation mode offers unique advantages in terms of sequencing speed and sensitivity. Its defining feature is that it synchronizes the release of ions from the TIMS device with the downstream selection of precursors for fragmentation in a TIMS quadrupole TOF configuration. As ions are compressed into narrow ion mobility peaks, the number of peptide fragment ion spectra obtained in data-dependent or targeted analyses can be increased by an order of magnitude without compromising sensitivity. Taking advantage of the correlation between ion mobility and mass, the PASEF principle also multiplies the efficiency of data-independent acquisition. This makes the technology well suited for rapid proteome profiling, an increasingly important attribute in clinical proteomics, as well as for ultrasensitive measurements down to single cells. The speed and accuracy of TIMS and PASEF also enable precise measurements of collisional cross section values at the scale of more than a million data points and the development of neural networks capable of predicting them based only on peptide sequences. Peptide collisional cross section values can differ for isobaric sequences or positional isomers of post-translational modifications. This additional information may be leveraged in real time to direct data acquisition or in postprocessing to increase confidence in peptide identifications. These developments make TIMS quadrupole TOF PASEF a powerful and expandable platform for proteomics and beyond., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • TIMS is a compact, highly efficient, and flexible ion mobility device. • PASEF increases sequencing speed without compromising sensitivity. • Collisional cross-section information remains to be fully explored and utilized., In Brief The combination of ion mobility and MS is increasingly attractive in the field of proteomics research. Here, we provide a perspective on the recent development of TIMS and PASEF. TIMS offers an additional dimension of separation and collisional cross-section information, whereas PASEF greatly increases the efficiency of MS/MS experiments. As the user base broadens and computational tools evolve, a wide range of applications emerge from structural to single-cell proteomics.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has overwhelmed health systems worldwide and highlighted limitations of diagnostic testing. Several types of diagnostic tests including RT-PCR-based assays and antigen detection by lateral flow assays, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, have been developed and deployed in a short time. Methods Here, we describe an immunoaffinity purification approach followed a by high resolution mass spectrometry-based targeted qualitative assay capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2 viral antigen from nasopharyngeal swab samples. Based on our discovery experiments using purified virus, recombinant viral protein and nasopharyngeal swab samples from COVID-19 positive patients, nucleocapsid protein was selected as a target antigen. We then developed an automated antibody capture-based workflow coupled to targeted high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) - parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) assay on an Orbitrap Exploris 480 mass spectrometer. An ensemble machine learning-based model for determining COVID-19 positive samples was developed using fragment ion intensities from the PRM data. Findings The optimized targeted assay, which was used to analyze 88 positive and 88 negative nasopharyngeal swab samples for validation, resulted in 98% (95% CI = 0.922–0.997) (86/88) sensitivity and 100% (95% CI = 0.958–1.000) (88/88) specificity using RT-PCR-based molecular testing as the reference method. Interpretation Our results demonstrate that direct detection of infectious agents from clinical samples by tandem mass spectrometry-based assays have potential to be deployed as diagnostic assays in clinical laboratories, which has hitherto been limited to analysis of pure microbial cultures. Funding This study was supported by DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowship grant IA/M/15/1/502023 awarded to AP and the generosity of Eric and Wendy Schmidt.

Orientadores: Marco Aurélio Zezzi Arruda, Fábio Cesar Gozzo Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Química Resumo: ANÁLISE DE ESPECIAÇÃO DE METAIS E METALÓIDES LIGADOS A ANIDRASE CARBÔNICA EMPREGANDO MOBILIDADE IÔNICA E ICP-MS. No Capítulo 1, é proposta a técnica de mobilidade iônica na modalidade TWIMS, acoplada a um espectrômetro de massas do tipo ESI-Q-ToF MS/MS para análise de especiação da anidrase carbônica ligada a metais divalentes e em diferentes estados de oxidação, bem como ligada a espécies de selênio em diferentes estados de oxidação. O método é aplicado com sucesso na separação de espécies com diferentes estados de oxidação, mesmo quando as espécies de Se4+ e Se6+são adicionadas em uma mistura com a anidrase carbônica. O método também é aplicado para avaliação do estado de enovelamento da anidrase carbônica, em condições nativas e desnaturadas, sendo considerado satisfatório na elucidação das diferentes conformações da proteína. No Capítulo 2, a técnica de ICP-MS é usada na análise de especiação isotópica de Zn ligado à anidrase. A exatidão das medidas aproximou-se das condições naturais observadas para a razão isotópica de Zn ao final das otimizações. A precisão obtida situa-se dentro da margem observada para analisadores de m/z do tipo quadrupolo. Os principais desafios enfrentados neste capítulo foram minimizar os efeitos de discriminação de massas e a remoção de interferências poliatômicas. A enzima foi enriquecida com os isótopos 67Zn e 68Zn, sendo observada maior razão isotópica para anidrase ligada 67Zn. A atividade da anidrase enriquecida com isótopos de Zn apresentou resultados estatisticamente semelhantes Abstract: SPECIATION ANALYSIS OF METALS AND METALLOIDS BOUND TO CARBONIC ANHYDRASE USING ION MOBILITY AND ICP - MS . In Chapter 1, ion mobility in TWIMS mode was proposed, coupled to a ESI-Q-ToF MS/MS mass spectrometer for speciation analysis of carbonic anhydrase bound to Ba2+, Zn2+, Cu+, Cu2+, Pb2+, Pb4+, Se4+ and Se6+. The method was successfully applied to separation of selenium species with different oxidation states, even when the species Se4+ and Se6+ were incubated in a mixture with carbonic anhydrase. The method was also applied to evaluation of carbonic anhydrase folding state in native and denatured conditions, and it was considered as satisfactory in the elucidation of different conformations of the protein. In Chapter 2, an ICP-MS was used for the isotopic speciation analysis of Zn bound to anhydrase. The accuracy measurements were closer to natural conditions for Zn isotope ratio, in the end of the optimization. The precision was within the range observed for m/z analyzer such as quadrupole. The main challenges in this chapter were to minimize the effects of mass discrimination and the removal of polyatomic interferences. The enzyme was enriched with 67Zn and 68Zn isotopes, and the highest isotope ratio was observed for 67Zn bound to anhydrase. Anhydrase activity of Zn enriched isotopes yielded similar statistical results Doutorado Química Analítica Doutor em Ciências

Orientador: Fábio Cesar Gozzo Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Química Resumo: Este trabalho foi dividido em dois capítulos, tendo como temática geral a aplicação de técnicas modernas baseadas em espectrometria de massas (MS) no estudo da biotransformação de fármacos (capítulo I) e em proteômica estrutural por ligação cruzada e mobilidade iônica (capítulo II). No capítulo I, foram estudadas rotas de fragmentação por dissociação induzida por colisão (CID), perfis de metabólitos in vivo em ratos e farmacocinética de derivados de 4-anilinoquinazolina, candidatos a inibidores da enzima adenosina quinase (AK), tendo por essa razão potencial terapêutico no tratamento de doenças como hipertensão, Diabetes mellitus, psoríase e doenças inflamatórias crônicas. O comportamento desses compostos em MS foi inicialmente avaliado com base em suas rotas de fragmentação em fase gasosa por MS sequencial, com auxílio de cálculos teóricos para íons precursores e fragmentos em fase gasosa. Esse conhecimento foi então aplicado na determinação dos perfiis de metabólitos de fases I e II in vivo em ratos e de sua farmacocinética utilizando-se métodos de cromatografia líquida de ultra eficiência acoplada a MS (UPLC-MS). Os resultados permitiram estabelecer as principais vias de fragmentação por CID para essa classe de compostos, bem como os principais metabólitos observados in vivo. No capítulo II, foram realizados estudos fundamentais em proteômica estrutural por MS. Nesse âmbito, o efeito de modificações covalentes advindas de reações de ligação cruzada nas conformações de proteínas-modelo foi investigado empregando-se a técnica de mobilidade iônica acoplada a MS (IM-MS) em duas abordagens instrumentais distintas, que permite determinar as seções de choque de colisão (CCS) de íons em fase gasosa. Os resultados obtidos dos experimentos de IM-MS, aliados a dados provenientes de simulações de dinâmica molecular (MD) dos sistemas em questão, permitiram concluir que as modificações de ligação cruzada aumentam a resistência dos íons de proteína em fase gasosa ao processo de desenovelamento, e geram íons mais compactos em fase gasosa (menor CCS). Um modelo foi proposto para explicar esse fenômeno, correlacionando as conformações observadas com a carga líquida e densidade de carga dos íons de proteínas em fase gasosa Abstract: This work was divided in two chapters, both grouped under the general theme of application of modern mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques to the study of drug biotransformation (chapter I) and in structural proteomics by chemical cross-linking and ion mobility (chapter II). In chapter I, collision-induced dissociation (CID) routes, in vivo rat metabolite profiles and pharmacokinetics of a series of 4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives were studied. These derivatives are potential adenosine kinase (AK) inhibitors, having therapeutic potential in treatment of diseases such as hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, psoriasis and chronic inflammatory diseases. The mass spectrometric behavior of such derivatives was initially evaluated in terms of their fragmentation routes by sequential MS, aided by theoretical calculations for gas phase precursor and fragment ions. This knowledge was then applied in the determination of in vivo phase I and II metabolite profiles in rats, as well as pharmacokinetics, using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to MS (UPLC-MS). Results allowed the establishment of main CID fragmentation routes for this class of compounds, as well as the main metabolites observed in vivo. The focuses of chapter II were fundamental studies in structural proteomics by a combination of chemical cross-linking, ion mobility and MS. More specifically, the effect of covalent modifications introduced by chemical cross-linking in the conformations of model proteins was investigated by ion mobility-MS (IM-MS) techniques, which allows the determination of collision cross sections (CCS) for gas phase ions. Results from IM-MS experiments, together with data from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the studied systems, indicate that the cross-linking modifications increase the resistance of protein ions to gas phase unfolding, also generating more compact ions in the gas phase (smaller CCS). A model was developed to explain this phenomenon, correlating the observed conformations with net charge and charge density of the gas phase protein ion Doutorado Química Orgânica Doutor em Ciências

Infection by the human noroviruses (hNoV), for the vast majority of strains, requires attachment of the viral capsid to histo blood group antigens (HBGAs). The HBGA-binding pocket is formed by dimers of the protruding domain (P dimers) of the capsid protein VP1. Several studies have focused on HBGA binding to P dimers, reporting binding affinities and stoichiometries. However, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and native mass spectrometry (MS) analyses yielded incongruent dissociation constants (KD) for the binding of HBGAs to P dimers and, in some cases, disagreed on whether glycans bind at all. We hypothesized that glycan clustering during electrospray ionization in native MS critically depends on the physicochemical properties of the protein studied. It follows that the choice of a reference protein is crucial. We analysed carbohydrate clustering using various P dimers and eight non-glycan binding proteins serving as possible references. Data from native and ion mobility MS indicate that the mass fraction of β-sheets has a strong influence on the degree of glycan clustering. Therefore, the determination of specific glycan binding affinities from native MS must be interpreted cautiously.

Recycling is a current hot topic with a focus especially on plastics. The quality of such plastic recyclates is of utmost importance for further processing because impurities lead to a reduction thereof. Contaminations originating from other polymers are highly problematic due to their immiscibility with the recyclate, leading to possible product failures. Therefore, methods for the determination of polymer impurities in recyclates should be investigated. In this paper, an approach for the identification of three different polyamide grades (polyamide 6, 6.6, and 12) is presented, applicable for the analysis of polyolefin-recyclates. An HPLC equipped with a drift-tube ion-mobility QTOF-MS was used for the identification and differentiation of compounds originating from the polyamides, which were then used as markers. These marker compounds are specific for each type and can be identified by their corresponding value of the collision cross section (CCS). After a simple sample preparation, all three types of polyamides were identified within one measurement. In particular, the problematic differentiation of polyamide 6 and 6.6 was easily made possible.

Secretions from meibomian glands located within the eyelid (commonly known as meibum) are rich in nonpolar lipid classes incorporating very-long (22–30 carbons) and ultra-long (>30 carbons) acyl chains. The complex nature of the meibum lipidome and its preponderance of neutral, nonpolar lipid classes presents an analytical challenge, with typically poor chromatographic resolution, even between different lipid classes. To address this challenge, we have deployed differential mobility spectrometry (DMS)-MS to interrogate the human meibum lipidome and demonstrate near-baseline resolution of the two major nonpolar classes contained therein, namely wax esters and cholesteryl esters. Within these two lipid classes, we describe ion mobility behavior that is associated with the length of their acyl chains and location of unsaturation. This capability was exploited to profile the molecular speciation within each class and thus extend meibum lipidome coverage. Intriguingly, structure-mobility relationships in these nonpolar lipids show similar trends and inflections to those previously reported for other physicochemical properties of lipids (e.g., melting point and phase-transition temperatures). Taken together, these data demonstrate that differential ion mobility provides a powerful orthoganol separation technology for the analysis of neutral lipids in complex matrices, such as meibum, and may further provide a means to predict physicochemical properties of lipids that could assist in inferring their biological function(s).

There is increasing biopharmaceutical interest in oligosaccharides and glycosylation. A key requirement for these sample types is the ability to characterize the chain length, branching, type of monomers, and importantly stereochemistry and anomeric configuration. Herein, we showcase the multi-function capability of a cyclic ion mobility (cIM) separator embedded in a quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Q-ToF MS). The instrument design enables selective activation of mobility-separated precursors followed by cIM separation of product ions, an approach analogous to MSn. Using high cIM resolution, we demonstrate the separation of three isomeric pentasaccharides and, moreover, that three components are present for each compound. We show that structural differences between product ions reflect the precursor differences in some cases but not others. These findings are corroborated by a heavy oxygen labelling approach. Using this methodology, the identity of fragment ions may be assigned. This enables us to postulate that the two main components observed for each pentasaccharide are anomeric forms. The remaining low abundance component is assigned as an open-ring form. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13361-019-02168-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Untargeted metabolite profiling of biological samples is a challenge for analytical science due to the high degree of complexity of biofluids. Isobaric species may also not be resolved using mass spectrometry alone. As a result of these factors, many potential biomarkers may not be detected or are masked by co-eluting interferences in conventional LC-MS metabolomic analyses. In this study, a comprehensive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry workflow incorporating a fast-scanning miniaturised high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry separation (LC-FAIMS-MS) is applied to the untargeted metabolomic analysis of human urine. The time-of-flight mass spectrometer used in the study was scanned at a rate of 20 scans s−1 enabling a FAIMS CF spectrum to be acquired within a 1-s scan time, maintaining an adequate number of data points across each LC peak. The developed method is demonstrated to be able to resolve co-eluting isomeric species and shows good reproducibility (%RSD

Selenocysteine scanning (SecScan) is a novel technique to map disulfide networks in proteins independent of structure-based distance information and mass spectrometry. SecScan applies systematic substitution of single Cys by Sec in combination with NMR spectroscopy for reliable and unambiguous determination of disulfide bond networks.

The hyphenation of ion mobility spectrometry with high-resolution mass spectrometry has been widely used in the characterization of various metabolites. Nevertheless, such a powerful tool remains largely unexplored in natural products research, possibly mainly due to the lack of available compounds. To evaluate the ability of collision cross-sections (CCSs) in characterizing compounds, especially isomeric natural products, here we measured and compared the traveling-wave IMS-derived nitrogen CCS values for 75 marine-derived aphidicolanes. We established a CCS database for these compounds which contained 227 CCS values of different adducts. When comparing the CCS differences, 36 of 57 pairs (over 60%) of chromatographically neighboring compounds showed a ΔCCS over 2%. What is more, 64 of 104 isomeric pairs (over 60%) of aphidicolanes can be distinguished by their CCS values, and 13 of 18 pairs (over 70%) of chromatographically indistinguishable isomers can be differentiated from the mobility dimension. Our results strongly supported CCS as an important parameter with good orthogonality and complementarity with retention time. CCS is expected to play an important role in distinguishing complex and diverse marine natural products.

This research was focused on the analysis of material composition and organic residues present in three molds found in the Moravian region (Czech Republic) belonging to the Roman era. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy pointed out the possible remelting of Roman objects in Barbarian territory. The analysis of organic residues retrieved from the internal part of mold #2 by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry proved the presence of ozokerite wax (“earth wax”). Consequent analysis of this organic residue by Atmospheric Solids Analysis Probe–ion mobility spectrometry–high-resolution mass spectrometry (ASAP-IMS-HRMS) confirmed the presence of ceresin, the main component of ozokerite. Ceresin was also detected in a sample of the organic residue from mold #1. Note that this is the first application of ASAP-IMS-HRMS in archaeological research. The remains of earth wax in molds suggest the production of wax models as an intermediate stage for the production of lost-wax ceramic casting molds.

Presentation forBMSS LIPIDOMICS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP on the 15th of April &nbsp