Effects of Temperature and Energy on Stability of Oligomeric Enzyme Probed on Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Escherichia coli 3-Deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate 8-phosphate（KDO8P） synthase catalyzed the condensation reaction between D-arabinose 5-phosphate（A5P） and phosphoenolpyruvate（PEP） to form KDO8P and inorganic phosphate（Pi）. The noncovalent tetrameric association ofKDO8P synthase was observed and dissociated in gas phase by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry under the very ＂soft＂ conditions. The results indicate that PEP-bound enzyme generated abundant tetrameric species as well as monomeric species at the ＂soft＂ conditions, whereas, the unbound enzyme favored the formation of a dimeric species. The mass spectra of the mixture of the enzyme with one of substrates, PEP, and A5P or one of products, KDO8P and Pi show that the complex of the unbound enzyme with PEP or Pi was prone to the formation of a monomeric species, whereas, that of the unbound enzyme with A5P or KDO8P was similar to the unbound enzyme. The intensity of the dimeric species increased with the increase of temperature at a collision voltage of 10 V. Taken together, the results presented here suggest that mass spectrometry will be a powerful tool to explore subtile conformational changes and/or subunit-subunit interactions of multiprotein assembly induced by ligand-binding and/or the changes of environmental conditions.

Nanokit coupled electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for analysis of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 activity in single living cell

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2) is not only an enzyme but also a functional receptor on cell membrane for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2). Here, the activity of ACE2 in single living cell is firstly determined using a nanokit coupled electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(nanokit-ESI-MS). Upon the insertion of a micro-capillary into the living h ACE2-CHO cell and the electrochemical sorting of the cytosol, the target ACE2 enzyme hydrolyses angiotensin II inside the capillary to generate angiotensin 1-7. After the electrospray of the mixture at the tip of the capillary, the product is differentiated from the substrate in molecular weight to achieve the detection of ACE2 activity in single cells. The further measurement illustrates that the inflammatory state of cells does not lead to the significant change of ACE2 catalytic activity, which elucidates the relationship between intracellular ACE2 activity and inflammation at single cell level. The established strategy will provide a specific analytical method for further studying the role of ACE2 in the process of virus infection, and extend the application of nanokit based single cell analysis.

Real-time toxicity prediction of Aconitum stewing system using extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Due to numerous obstacles such as complex matrices,real-time monitoring of complex reaction systems(e.g.,medicinal herb stewing system)has always been a challenge though great values for safe and rational use of drugs.Herein,facilitated by the potential ability on the tolerance of complex matrices of extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry,a device was established to realize continuous sampling and real-time quantitative analysis of herb stewing system for the first time.A complete analytical strategy,including data acquisition,data mining,and data evaluation was proposed and implemented with overcoming the usual difficulties in real-time mass spectrometry quantification.The complex Fuzi(the lateral root of Aconitum)-meat stewing systems were real-timely monitored in150 min by qualitative and quantitative analysis of the nine key alkaloids accurately.The results showed that the strategy worked perfectly and the toxicity of the systems were evaluated and predicated accordingly.Stewing with trotters effectively accelerated the detoxification of Fuzi soup and reduced the overall toxicity to 68%,which was recommended to be used practically for treating rheumatic arthritis and enhancing immunity.The established strategy was versatile,simple,and accurate,which would have a wide application prospect in real-time analysis and evaluation of various complex reaction systems.

Characterization of polyoxometalates by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The electrospray behaviors of saturated, substituted, and lacunary polyoxometalates （POMs） with classic Keggin and Dawson structures were investigated systematically by electrospray mass spectrometry （ESI-MS）. The anions included Keggin [SiW12O40]4-, [SiW11O39]8-, [SiW10O36]8 , [SiW9O34]10-, Dawson [P2W18O62]6-, [P2W17O61]10-, and metal-substituted Keggin derivatives such as [PW11MnO40]7-, [SiW10V2O40]6-, and [GeWgCu3O37]10-. Common species observed in the mass spectra arose from the protonation or cationization of either intact or dehydrated precursor ions. Compared to saturated and substituted POMs, lacunary POMs exhibited distinguished MS behaviors such as a much higher degree of cationization and dehydration of the bare polyoxoanions present in the mass spectra. In addition, some of these lacunary POMs were found to undergo subtle speciation change in solution. Freshly prepared solutions are suggested for synthetics for which lacunary POMs are starting materials. The advantages of the cation-exchange process which are prior to MS analysis are illustrated by an example.

Analysis of Norditerpenoid Alkaloids Extracted from Aconitum sinomantanum Nakai by Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry（ESI-MS） was applied simultaneously in determining norditerpenoid alkaloids from the roots of Aconitum sinomantanum Nakai （RAS） based on molecular mass information. The tandem mass spectra（ ESI-MS^n） provided the alkaloidal structural information, through which the existence of these alkaloids was further confirmed. Accordingly, six known norditerpenoid alkaloids were simultaneously determined on the basis of their ESI-MS^n spectra. Furthermore, based on the diagnostic fragmentation pathways of alkaloidal MS^n, a rapid method for direct detection and characterization of alkaloids from an ethanolic extract of RAS was described.

Studies on Fragmentation Pathways of N-Ethoxy(phenyl) phosphoryl Amino Acids by Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The positive and negative ESI-MS/MS spectra of N-ethoxy（phenyl） phosphoryl amino acids（EPP-AA） were investigated by electrospray ionization（ESI） ion trap mass spectrometry. The fragmentation pathways of [ M ＋ Na]^＋ and [ M - H]^- ions are proposed and rationalized. The observation may have some potential applications in the interpretation of the MS/MS spectra of novel N-phosphoryl compounds. The complexity of MS/MS spectra of EPP-AA [ M ＋ Na]^＋ ions is decreased compared with that of N-dialkyloxyphosphoryl amino acid. Therefore, the new phosphonamidate method may be considered one of the superior methods that can be used in sequencing peptides and proteins extensively.

Study on the Structural Effect of Maltoligosaccharides on Cytochrome c Complexes Stabilities by Native Mass Spectrometry

Noncovalent interactions between ligands and targeting proteins are essential for understanding molecular mechanisms of proteins.In this work,we investigated the interaction of Cytochrome c(Cyt c)with maltoligosaccharides,namely maltose(Mal Ⅱ),maltotriose(Mal Ⅲ),maltotetraose(Mal Ⅳ),maltopentaose(Mal Ⅴ),maltohexaose(Mal Ⅵ)and maltoheptaose(Mal Ⅶ).Using electrospray ionization mass spetrometry(ESI-MS)assay,the 1:1 and 1:2 complexes formed by Cyt c with maltoligosaccharide ligand were observed.The corresponding association constants were calculated according to the deconvoluted spectra.The order of the relative binding affinities of the selected oligosaccharides with Cyt c were as MalⅢ>MalⅣ>MalⅡ>MalⅤ>MalⅥ>MalⅦ.The results indicated that the stability of noncovalent protein complexes was intimately correlated to the molecular structure of bound ligand.The relevant functional groups that could form H-bonds,electrostatic or hydrophobic forces with protein’s amino residues played an important role for the stability of protein complexes.In addition,the steric structure of ligand was also critical for an appropriate interaction with the binding pocket of proteins.

Study of the Transient Reactive Pd(Ⅳ) Intermediate in the Pd(OAc)2-Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling Reaction System by Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Pd-catalyzed oxidative coupling reaction was of great importance in the aromatic C--H activation and the for-mation of new C-O and C--C bonds. Sanford has pioneered practical, directed C-H activation reactions em-ploying Pd（OAc）2 as catalyst since 2004. However, until now, the speculated reactive Pd（Ⅳ） transient intermedi-ates in these reactions have not been isolated or directly detected from reaction solution. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry （ESI-MS/MS） was used to intercept and characterize the reactive Pd（Ⅳ） transient inter-mediates in the solutions of Pd（OAc）2-catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions. In this study, the Pd（IV） transient in-termediates were detected from the solution of Pd（OAc）2-catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions by ESI-MS and the MS/MS of the intercepted Pd（IV） transient intermediate in reaction system was the same with the synthesized au-thentic Pd（Ⅳ） complex. Our ESI-MS（/MS） studies confirmed the presence of Pd（Ⅳ） reaction transient intermedi-ates. Most interestingly, the MS/MS of Pd（Ⅳ） transient intermediates showed the reductive elimination reactivity to Pd（Ⅱ） complexes with new C-O bond formation into product in gas phase, which was consistent with the proposed reactivity of the Pd（Ⅳ） transient intermediates in solution.

Novel Rearrangement of Small Peptides in Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is a powerful method for sequencing peptides. A novel fragmentation pattern with the loss of a neutral fragment of 45 Da was observed with the dipeptides, tripeptides, tetrapeptides and pentapeptides containing phenylalanine or histidine residues. A novel rearrangement reaction with the extrusion of a formamide piece was studied and the rearrangement mechanism was proposed and confirmed by deuterium labeling experiments with ESI-MSn and high-resolution mass spectrometry. These findings are poten-tially helpful in identifying the specific sequence pattern in the peptide sequencing.

Crystal Structure and Mass Spectrometric Fragmentation Behavior of Eprosartan

The crystal structure determination and mass spectrometric fragmentation analysis of the medicinal ingredient eprosartan （4-[2-butyl-5-（2-carboxy-3-thiophen-2-yl-propenyl）-imidazol-l-ylmethyl]-benzoic acid） are presented. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction shows that the colorless transparent crystal of eprosartan is of monoclinic system, space group P2/c with a = 16.1861（15）, b = 10.9813（12）, c = 28.610（3） A, β = 118.452（2）°, Z = 4, V= 4471.1（8） A3, Dc = 1.288 g/cm3,μ（MoKα） = 0.178 mm^-1 and F（000） = 1831. The independent part of the unit cell contains two eprosartan molecules and one unordered H2O molecule in the crystal structure which is fixed by inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The product ions in electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry （ESI-MSn） displays the protonated eprosartan dissociated in three competitive pathways and the fragmentation mechanism is proposed and supported by the FTICRMSn results.

电喷雾解吸电离质谱法直接测定蔬菜表面的莠去津残留

A direct determination method for the atrazine residue on the vegetable was developed by using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI MS) without any sample pretreatment.Acetonitrile-water (1:1,v/v),which contained 0.1% formic acid,was used as the spray solvent.The working conditions,such as ESI gas inlet pressure,ESI flow rate,ESI spray voltage,spray-to-sample distance,spray-to-cone-hole distance and the collision induced dissociation (CID) voltage for MS/MS,were optimized for both DESI and esquires 6 000 mass spectrometer.The linear range of atrazine on cabbage leaves was 25.25-2 525 pg/mm2,the R2 was 0.991 6,and the relative standard deviations were between 3.37% and 26.17%.The LOD of atrazine calculated by S/N=3 was 2.50 pg/mm2.

Quantitative determination of ilexgenin A in rat plasma by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and its pharmacokinetics

A sensitive and selective high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry （LC-MS） was developed for the quantitative determination of ilexgenin A （IA）,a major component in Radix Ilicis Pubescentis,in rat plasma.Chromatographic separation was performed on a C 18 column,with methanol-5 mM ammonium acetate （80：20,v/v） as the mobile phase.Mass spectrometer was set in negative mode with target ions at m/z 501.1→501.1 for IA and m/z 779.4→779.4 for digoxin （internal standard,IS）.Rat plasma was extracted with ethyl acetate after addition of phosphoric solution and the organic layer was evaporated and reconstituted with mobile phase for LC-MS analysis.The proposed method was validated with a linear range of 1.05-525.5 ng/mL for IA with limit of quantitation （LOQ） at 1.05 ng/mL.Intra-and inter-day precision expressed as relative standard deviation （RSD） were less than 10% at LOQ level and overall recovery was over 80%.This validated method was used successfully for the pharmacokinetic study of IA in rats after oral dosing of IA （100 mg/kg） and some main pharmacokinetic parameters of IA in rats were obtained.

β-环糊精与蛋白质非共价复合物的电喷雾质谱研究

电喷雾质谱(ESI-MS)已经广泛应用于非共价复合物的检测和研究[1,2].ESI是一种极软的离子化过程,它不仅能在不断裂共价键的情况下使分子离子化,而且可以在离子化过程中保持分子间弱的非共价键作用.……

葛根素-7-磷酰二烷基酯的电喷雾质谱研究

Puerarin,an isoflavone compound,is the bioactive component of traditional Chinese medicine.A novel dialkyl puerarin-7-yl phosphate was synthesized and investigated by positive ion electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI MS)in conjunction with tandem mass spectrometry.The fragmentation pathways of dialkyl puerarin-7-yl phosphates were investigated.

Characterization of Acute Renal Allograft Rejection by Human Serum Proteomic Analysis

To identify acute renal allograft rejection biomarkers in human serum, two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis （2-D DIGE） and reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography （RP-HPLC） followed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry （ESI-MS） were used. Serum samples from renal allograft patients and normal volunteers were divided into three groups： acute rejec- tion （AR）, stable renal function （SRF） and normal volunteer （N）. Serum samples were firstly processed using Multiple Affinity Removal Column to selectively remove the highest abundance proteins. Differentially expressed proteins were analyzed using 2-D DIGE. These differential protein spots were excised, digested by trypsin, and identified by RP-HPLC-ESI/MS. Twenty-two differentially expressed proteins were identified in serum from AR group. These proteins included complement C9 precursor, apolipoprotein A-IV precursor, vitamin D-binding protein precursor, beta-2-glycoprotein 1 precursor, etc. Vitamin D-binding protein, one of these proteins, was confirmed by ELISA in the independent set of serum samples. In conclusion, the differentially expressed proteins as serum biomarker candidates may provide the basis of acute rejection noninvasive diagnosis. Confirmed vitamin D-binding protein may be one of serum biomarkers of acute rejection. Furthermore, it may provide great insights into understanding the mechanisms and potential treatment strategy of acute rejection.

Construction and Analysis of N-phosphoryl Peptide Libraries

N-Phosphoryl peptide libraries were constructed by transformation from homo-oligopeptide libraries, which was synthesized by self-assembly of amino acids with the assistance of phosphorus oxychloride. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used to monitor the reaction.

Metabolomic profiling for identification of metabolites and relevant pathways for taurine in hepatic stellate cells

AIM To develop a reliable and simple method to identify important biological metabolites and relevant pathways for taurine in hepatic stellate cells(HSCs), in order to provide more data for taurine therapy.METHODS All the biological samples were analyzed by using highperformance liquid chromatography-time electrospray ionization/quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were used to identify statistically different metabolites for taurine in HSCs, and metabolomic pathway analysis was used to do pathway analysis for taurine in HSCs. The chemical structure of the related metabolites and pathways was identified by comparing the m/z ratio and ion mode with the data obtained from free online databases.RESULTS A total of 32 significant differential endogenous metabolites were identified, which may be related to the mechanism of action of taurine in HSCs. Among the seven relevant pathways identified, sphingolipid metabolism pathway, glutathione metabolism pathway and thiamine metabolism pathway were found to be the most important metabolic pathways for taurine in HSCs.CONCLUSION This study showed that there were distinct changes in biological metabolites of taurine in HSCs and three differential metabolic pathways including sphingolipid pathway, glutathione pathway and thiamine metabolism pathway might be of key importance in mediating the mechanism of action of taurine in HSCs.

A New Method for Preparation and Characterization of Lipo-alkaloid

A simple route for the preparation of lipo-alkaloid is presented. When aconitine or one of its analogues is heated with a fatty acid for 20 min at 100 ℃ in water, the C_8 acetyl group of aconitine is displaced by a long chain fatty acyl group. The structures of the products were characterized by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Potential of capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry for the characterization and monitoring of amine-derivatized naphthenic acids from oil sands process-affected water

Capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry（CE–MS） was used for the analysis of naphthenic acid fraction compounds（NAFCs） of oil sands process-affected water（OSPW）. A standard mixture of amine-derivatized naphthenic acids is injected directly onto the CE column and analyzed by CE–MS in less than 15 min. Time of flight MS analysis（TOFMS）, optimized for high molecular weight ions, showed NAFCs between 250 and 800 m/z. With a quadrupole mass analyzer, only low-molecular weight NAFCs（between 100 and 450 m/z） are visible under our experimental conditions. Derivatization of NAFCs consisted of two-step amidation reactions mediated by 1-ethyl-3-（3-dimethylaminopropyl）carbodiimide（EDC）, or mediated by a mixture of EDC and N-hydroxysuccinimide, in dimethyl sulfoxide, dichloromethane or ethyl acetate. The optimum background electrolyte composition was determined to be 30%（V/V） methanol in water and 2%（V/V） formic acid. NAFCs extracted from OSPW in the Athabasca oil sands region were used to demonstrate the feasibility of CE–MS for the analysis of NAFCs in environmental samples, showing that the labeled naphthenic acids are in the mass range of 350 to 1500 m/z.

Identification of cadmium containing metabolites in HepG2 cells after treatment with cadmium-selenium quantum dots

The transformation of quantum dots(QDs)by organisms has attracted broad attention but remains unclear.Understanding of the metabolites helps to reveal the transformation pathway of QDs.Cd containingmetallothionein(MT)are the main species formed by Cd released from CdSe QDs in HepG2 cells,while speciation analysis of Cd containing MTs remains a challenge because MTs has several subisoforms and can bind with several metals.Herein,we built a hyphenated platform for speciation analysis of QDs in HepG2 cells after treatment with CdSe/ZnS QDs.The Cd-containing MTs were separated in reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography(RP-HPLC)and subsequently online detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS)and electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(ESI-Q-TOF-MS)parallelly.Four groups of Cd-containing metabolites were found by detecting Cd in ICP-MS.Their structures were identified in ESI-Q-TOF-MS and further confirmed with standards of four subisoforms of MT,including N-terminal acetylation MT2a,N-terminal acetylation MT1e,N-terminal acetylation MT1g and MT1m.Each group of them contains various stoichiometry of Cd/Zn.The metabolites of QDs remain same while the concentrations of each metabolite and its stoichiometry of Cd/Zn vary for different incubation concentration/time.This work provides a new parallel hyphenation technique of HPLC-ICP-MS/ESI-MS with high separation resolution and powerful detection ability,and the obtained results provide detailed metabolism information of QDs in HepG2 cells after treatment of CdSe/ZnS QDs,contributing to deep exploration of the functional mechanisms of QDs in organisms.