title: Ganglioside analysis by thin-layer chromatography matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: Metastable decomposition of ions generated in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometers complicates analysis of biological samples that have labile bonds. Recently, several academic laboratories and manufacturers of commercial instruments have designed instruments that introduce a cooling gas into the ion source during the MALDI event and have shown that the resulting vibrational cooling stabilizes these labile bonds. In this study, we compared stabilization and detection of desorbed gangliosides on a commercial orthogonal time-of-flight (oTOF) instrument with results we reported previously that had been obtained on a home-built Fourier transform mass spectrometer. Decoupling of the desorption/ionization from the detection steps resulted in an opportunity for desorbing thin-layer chromatography (TLC)-separated gangliosides directly from a TLC plate without compromising mass spectral accuracy and resolution of the ganglioside analysis, thus coupling TLC and oTOF mass spectrometry. The application of a declustering potential allowed control of the matrix cluster and matrix adduct formation, and, thus, enhanced the detection of the gangliosides.
authors.affiliation: Mass Spectrometry Resource, Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, 02215, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Vera B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Ivleva
authors.affiliation: Perkin-Elmer Life and Analytical Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sapp
authors.affiliation: Mass Spectrometry Resource, Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: Mass Spectrometry Resource, Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. cecmsms@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Catherine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Costello
mesh_terms: D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer / Q000379:methods*; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000737:chemistry*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D005732:Gangliosides