Discrimination of isomeric monosaccharide derivatives using collision-induced fingerprinting coupled to ion mobility mass spectrometry

• Published in: Talanta (Oxford) 2021-03, Vol.224, p.121901-121901, Article 121901
• Main Authors: Wu, Xinzhou, Zhang, Yue, Qin, Run, Li, Ping, Wen, Yingjie, Yin, Zhibin, Zhang, Zhixiang, Xu, Hanhong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collision-induced fingerprint; Ion mobility; Ion Mobility Spectrometry; Isomer discrimination; Isomeric monosaccharide derivatives; Isomerism; Mass Spectrometry; Monosaccharides; Reproducibility of Results
• ISSN: 0039-9140; 1873-3573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121901

Because of the isomeric heterogeneity that is ubiquitous in analytical science, a formidable analytical challenge is to fully discriminate multiple isomers, especially those candidate isomers with various biological functions. Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) has gained impressive advances for gaining molecular conformations, whereas coexisting structurally similar isomers often make unambiguous discrimination impossible due to the limited IM resolution of commercially available instruments. Herein, we demonstrate an energy-resolved collision-induced fingerprint (CIF) method to fully discriminate isomeric monosaccharide derivatives that differ in terms of composition, connectivity and configuration without complex instrument modifications. By simply increasing the collisional energy in the trap cell, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of IM peaks can be markedly narrowed by at least 2-fold. Given the excellent reproducibility of CIF measurements, the full discrimination of isomers can benefit from their unique feature values and root-mean square deviation (RMSD) in CIF spectra. Moreover, rapid discrimination of each monosaccharide derivate isomer from binary mixtures is demonstrated. This strategy will expand the horizons of IM-MS platform in the rapid differentiation of a wider range of isomers more than monosaccharide derivatives in complex systems, which facilitates the identification and evaluation of innovative isomer candidates with unexplored functions. [Display omitted] •An IM-MS based CIF method for the discrimination of isomeric monosaccharide derivatives.•IM resolution can be markedly improved by increasing collisional energy prior to IM.•Rapid discrimination of each isomeric monosaccharide derivatives from binary mixtures.•This strategy improves commercial IM-MS performance without complicated modifications.