Analysis of Synthetic Monodisperse Polysaccharides by Wide Mass Range Ultrahigh-Resolution MALDI Mass Spectrometry

Simone Nicolardi, A. Abragam Joseph, Qian Zhu, Zhengnan Shen, Alonso Pardo-Vargas, Fabrizio Chiodo, Antonio Molinaro, Alba Silipo, Yuri E. M. van der Burgt, Biao Yu, Peter H. Seeberger, Manfred Wuhrer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Carbohydrates, such as oligo- and polysaccharides, are highly abundant biopolymers that are involved in numerous processes. The study of their structure and functions is commonly based on a material that is isolated from complex natural sources. However, a more precise analysis requires pure compounds with well-defined structures that can be obtained from chemical or enzymatic syntheses. Novel synthetic strategies have increased the accessibility of larger monodisperse polysaccharides, posing a challenge to the analytical methods used for their molecular characterization. Here, we present wide mass range ultrahigh-resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry (MS) as a powerful platform for the analysis of synthetic oligo- and polysaccharides. Synthetic carbohydrates 16-, 64-, 100-, and 151-mers were mass analyzed and characterized by MALDI in-source decay FT-ICR MS. Detection of fragment ions generated from glycosidic bond cleavage (or cross-ring cleavage) provided information of the monosaccharide content and the linkage type, allowing for the corroboration of the carbohydrate compositions and structures.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4666-4675
Number of pages10
JournalAnalytical Chemistry
Volume93
Issue number10
Early online date2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Mar 2021
Externally publishedYes

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