The lack of robust, high-throughput and sensitive analytical strategies that can conclusively map the structure of glycans has significantly hampered progress in fundamental and applied aspects of glycoscience.  Resolution of sugar epimers and anomeric α/β glycan linkage within oligosaccharides remains a particular challenge.  We have shown that after fragmentation, high-resolution stereochemical information can be obtained by ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS). In addition ‘memory’ of anomeric configuration is retained following gas-phase glycosidic bond fragmentation during tandem mass spectrometry (MS2). These findings allow for integration of MS2 with ion mobility spectrometry (IM-MS2) and lead to a strategy to distinguish α- and β-linkages within natural underivatised carbohydrates.  We have applied this fragment-based hyphenated MS technology to oligosaccharide standards and to <i>de novo</i> sequencing of purified plant metabolite glycoconjugates, showing that the anomeric signature is also observable in fragments derived from larger glycans.<br/>

Hyphenated IM-MS methods as high-resolution sequencing tools for carbohydrates

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.