The disaccharide trehalose has been found in many different organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and plants. These organisms are able to survive extreme conditions, such as dehydration and freezing temperatures, by using trehalose as a cellular protectant. The exact mechanisms behind trehalose’s ability to act as a cellular protectant remain unknown. Methods to accurately measure trehalose levels in different organisms should provide a better understanding of these mechanisms. Although techniques exist to quantify the concentrations of trehalose from biological sources, these methods are either complex or not sensitive enough to accurately quantify low levels of trehalose. Furthermore, many of these techniques lack the ability to conclusively identify trehalose as the sugar being quantified. To overcome these limitations, a liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based assay for the quantification of trehalose using sucrose as an internal standard was developed. In this assay, single reaction monitoring (SRM) was used to quantify trehalose concentrations with exceptional sensitivity and selectivity. The assay was used to detect trehalose at picomolar concentrations, as well as to quantify trehalose levels from bacterial cell extracts. This method enables efficient and reliable quantification of trehalose concentrations from different biological sources.

Development of an LC-MS/MS-based assay for the quantification of trehalose

249th National Meeting (2015)

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