title: Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Oligo- and Polysialic Acids.
abstract: Oligo- and polysialic acids (oligo/polySia) are involved in numerous biological processes depending on the chain length, the comprised type of sialic acids, as well as the glycosidic linkages. Here, we describe the determination of the composition, the sequence, as well as the linkages between the sialic acid residues of lactonized oligo/polySia using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS)(/MS) and electrospray-ionization (ESI)-MS((n)).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Giessen, Friedrichstrasse 24, 35392, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Galuska
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maass
authors.forename: Sebastian P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Galuska
mesh_terms: D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D012794:Sialic Acids; C021319:polysialic acid; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid