Oligosaccharides

AP/MALDI-MS is well-suited for the analysis of oligosaccharides and glycoproteins.  Simple sodiated or protonated molecular ion peaks can be generated due to the 'soft' nature of the AP/MALDI.  MALDI-MS/MS capabilities  allow structure determination from simple glycosidic cleavages.  The CID capabilities of AP/MALDI coupled to an ion trap also allows cross-ring fragmentation which can yield valuable linkage information, while MSⁿ (n>3) offers further elucidation/confirmation.  New research has also shown that IR laser irradiation for so-called AP IR-MALDI (or IR AP-MALDI, or AP-IRIS) may be particularly beneficial for oligosaccharide applications.

Relevant References:

Structural analysis of oligosaccharides by atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry
CS Creaser, JC Reynolds, DJ Harvey
Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom.  2002; 16: 176-184.

Atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Mass Spectrometry
VV Laiko , MA Baldwin , AL Burlingame
Anal. Chem. 2000; 72: 652-657.

Mass Spectrometry of N-Linked oligosaccharides using atmospheric pressure infrared laser ionization from solution
PV Tan, NI Taranenko, VV Laiko, MA Yakshin, CR Prasad, VM Doroshenko
J. Mass Spectrom. 2004; 39: 913-921.

Liquid Infrared Atmospheric Pressure Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry of Sialylated Carbohydrates
CE Von Seggern , SC Moyer, RJ Cotter
Anal. Chem. 2003; 75: 3212-3218.

Fragmentation of Sialylated Carbohydrates using Infrared Atmospheric Pressure MALDI Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry from Cation-Doped Liquid Matrixes
CE Von Seggern , PE Zarek, RJ Cotter
Anal. Chem. 2003; 75: 6523-6530.