Glycan Analysis by Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Remarkable advances in performance of recent mass spectrometers promote dramatically the proteome analysis as well as the application of mass spectrometry to glycan analysis, and mass spectrometry has become one of the main analytical methods in glycan study. However, although many researchers can operate mass spectrometers easily these days due to the increase of user-friendliness of the instruments, mass spectrometry is still developing in theˆeld of glycan analysis, and it is very important not only to understand the principle of mass spectrometers and the related technologies but also to interpret obtained mass spectrum properly. In this paper, the glycan analysis using MALDI and ESI mass spectrometers is explained with some actual examples and useful notes. A. IntroductionMass spectrometry (MS) is, as the name indicates, an analytical technique that is used to measure mass. The information obtained through the mass spectrometry of glycans and glycoproteins covers a broad range that, in addition to mass, includes structural information, glycan binding site information, and quantitative information. The development of``matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization'' (MALDI) (1,2) and``electrospray ionization'' (ESI) (3) has enabled the ionization of biological macromolecules, and advances have been made in the application of mass spectrometry to glycan analysis. As a result of this, and because of its ability to achieve highsensitivity, rapid analysis, mass spectrometry is becoming an indispensable analytical technique for glycan analysis. In this report, while explaining some general points about measurement, some examples of the analysis of glycans and glycoproteins performed using MALDI mass spectrometry and ESI mass spectrometry will be presented.

Oligosaccharide Analysis by Mass Spectrometry: A Review of Recent Developments

“…Several recent reviews address tandem mass spectrometry of oligosaccharides 5,10,24,54 and specific classes of oligosaccharides, such as GAGs, 55 glycopeptides, 56 O- and N-linked glycans, 9,25,26,57 and milk oligosaccharides. 58 This section of the review will highlight some of the recent developments in ion activation methods for the last two years focusing on sulfated oligosaccharides.…”

“…A complete set of glycosidic fragments give details about the sequence, monosaccharide compositions, and branching while cross-ring fragments locate modifications and determine the position of glycosidic linkage within individual residues. 10 Several recent reviews address tandem mass spectrometry of oligosaccharides 5,10,24,54 and specific classes of oligosaccharides, such as GAGs, 55 glycopeptides, 56 O-and N-linked glycans, 9,25,26,57 and milk oligosaccharides. 58 This section of the review will highlight some of the recent developments in ion activation methods for the last 2 years.…”

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update for 2007–2008

“…Other relevant reviews include those on carbohydrate analysis by mass spectrometry (Sekiya & Iida, 2008), mass spectrometry of carbohydrates Rodrigues et al, 2007b), carbohydrate chemistry (Lindhorst, 2007), recent developments on MALDI-TOF of biological samples (Pan et al, 2007), sample preparation (particularly for chromatography, Luque- Garcia & Neubert, 2007;Sanz & Martínez-Castro, 2007), quantitative aspects of MALDI-TOF MS (63 references) (Duncan, Roder, & Hunsucker, 2008) and MALDI-ion-trap mass spectrometry (Matamoros Fernández, 2007). A major book on glycobiology has been published but it contained a disappointingly small amount of mass spectrometry.…”

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update for 2009–2010

“…Use in sample preparation and as MALDI matrices 148 (Liu, et al, 2009e) Coupling of planar chromatography to mass spectrometry Good general review (no specific mention of carbohydrates) 118 (Morlock & Schwack, 2010) General review with a section on glycolipids - Glycan analysis by mass spectrometry Short review, MALDI and ESI, applications to N-linked glycans 20 (Sekiya & Iida, 2008) Deciphering carbohydrate structures by ion mobility MS Short general review of glycomics and ion mobility. Applications to flavonoids, GAGs and glycoproteins 96 Modern MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry Development of TOF mass spectrometers since the introduction of MALDI 26 (Vestal, 2009) MALDI Mass spectrometry of carbohydrates Short general review (In Chinese) - FIGURE 1.…”