The origin of asymmetric charge and mass partitioning observed for gas-phase dissociation of multiply charged macromolecular complexes has been hotly debated. These experiments hold the potential to provide detailed information about the interactions between the macromolecules within the complex. Here, this unusual phenomenon of asymmetric charge partitioning is investigated for several protein homodimers. Asymmetric charge partitioning in these ions depends on a number of factors, including the internal energy, charge state, and gas-phase conformation of the complex, as well as the conformational flexibility of the protein monomer in the complex. High charge states of both cytochrome c and disulfide-reduced α-lactalbumin homodimers dissociate by a symmetrical charge partitioning process in which both fragment monomers carry away roughly an equal number of charges. In contrast, highly asymmetric charge partitioning dominates for the lower charge states. Cytochrome c dimer ions with eleven charges formed by electrospray ionization from two solutions in which the solution-phase conformation differs dissociate with dramatically different charge partitioning. These results demonstrate that these gas-phase complexes retain a clear "memory" of the solution from which they are formed, and that information about their solution-phase conformation can be obtained from these gas-phase dissociation experiments. Cytochrome c dimer ions formed from solutions in which the conformation of the protein is native show greater asymmetric charge partitioning with increasing ion internal energy. Cytochrome c dimers that are conformationally constrained with intramolecular cross-linkers undergo predominantly symmetric charge partitioning under conditions where asymmetric charge partitioning is observed for cytochrome c dimers without cross-links. Similar results are observed for α-lactalbumin homodimers. These results provide convincing evidence that the origin of asymmetric charge partitioning in these homodimers is the result of one of the protein monomers unfolding in the dissociation transition state. A mechanism that accounts for these observations is proposed.

The multiple charging of large molecules in electrospray ionization provides key advantages for obtaining accurate molecular weights by mass spectrometry and for obtaining structural information by tandem mass spectrometry and MS(n) experiments. Addition of glycerol or m-nitrobenzyl alcohol into the electrospray solutions dramatically increases both the maximum observed charge state and the abundances of the high charge states of protein and peptide ions. Adding glycerol to acidified aqueous solutions of cytochrome c shifts the most abundant charge state from 17+ to 21+, shifts the maximum charge state from 20+ to 23+, and shifts the average charge state from 16.6+ to 20.9+. Much less m-nitrobenzyl alcohol (<1%) is required to produce similar results. With just 0.7% m-nitrobenzyl alcohol, even the 24+ charge state of cytochrome c is readily observed. Similar results are obtained with myoglobin and (Lys)4. For the latter molecule, the 5+ charge state is observed in the electrospray mass spectrum obtained from solutions containing 6.7% m-nitrobenzyl alcohol. This charge state corresponds to protonation of all basic sites in this peptide. Although the mechanism for enhanced charging is unclear, it does not appear to be a consequence of conformational changes of the analyte molecules. This method of producing highly charged protein ions should be useful for improving the performance of mass measurements on mass spectrometers with performances that decrease with increasing m/z. This should also be particularly useful for tandem mass spectrometry experiments, such as electron capture dissociation, for which highly charged ions are desired.

The feasibility of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) imaging of features smaller than the laser beam size has been demonstrated. The method involves the complete ablation of the MALDI matrix coating the sample at each sample position and moving the sample target a distance less than the diameter of the laser beam before repeating the process. In the limit of complete sample ablation, acquiring signal from adjacent positions spaced by distances smaller than the sample probe enhances image resolution as the measured analyte signal only arises from the overlap of the laser beam size and the non-ablated sample surface. [3] has revolutionized the investigation of biological molecules by providing soft ionization methods linking biochemistry with the powerful analysis tools of mass spectrometry (MS). In the analysis of complex samples, such as biological tissue, MALDI is of particular interest because of its ability to desorb and ionize molecules of high molecular weight, such as proteins and peptides, providing excellent sensitivity while retaining considerable tolerance towards salts and other small molecules found at high concentration in tissue. It has been roughly 10 years since the first published applications in which MALDI-MS was used to create a chemical images of substrates [4,5]. The intervening decade has seen a considerable growth in techniques and instrumentation for MALDI-MS imaging, developed largely by Caprioli and coworkers [6 -12] with contributions to sampling techniques [13][14][15][16] and instrumentation [17,18] provided by others.It is generally accepted that the maximal spatial imaging or profiling resolution of microprobe imaging techniques is determined by a combination of the size of the microprobe and the precision of the sample or microprobe positioning device. MALDI mass spectrometers typically use lasers having relatively large beam sizes (about 100 m diameter) in the analysis of standard, dried-droplet preparations. Some effort has been put into decreasing the size of the laser beam sizes for MALDI-MS imaging and profiling of biological samples, particularly for samples containing a high proportion of peptidergic neurons or other secretory cells. Investigated biological samples of this nature include rat pituitary and rat pancreas [6], mouse brain and human brain tumor xenografts [8,14], rat brain and rat brain tumors [9,19], mouse epididymis [20], molluscan atrial gland [15], and molluscan peptidergic neurons [16].Ideally, the spatial resolution of MALDI-MS imaging of analyte-rich tissues would approach the size of a single mammalian cell, 5 to 20 m in diameter. Several strategies have been used or suggested to decrease the laser beam diameter in imaging applications, including the placement of a pinhole aperture between the outlet of the laser and the focusing optics of the mass spectrometer [6,13], decreasing the size of the fiber optic used to direct the laser into the MALDI source [9], and placing multiple lenses between the laser and the M...

The effects of solvent composition on both the maximum charge states and charge state distributions of analyte ions formed by electrospray ionization were investigated using a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The charge state distributions of cytochrome c and myoglobin, formed from 47%/50%/ 3% water/solvent/acetic acid solutions, shift to lower charge (higher m/z) when the 50% solvent fraction is changed from water to methanol, to acetonitrile, to isopropanol. This is also the order of increasing gas-phase basicities of these solvents, although other physical properties of these solvents may also play a role. The effect is relatively small for these solvents, possibly due to their limited concentration inside the electrospray interface. In contrast, the addition of even small amounts of diethylamine (<0.4%) results in dramatic shifts to lower charge, presumably due to preferential proton transfer from the higher charge state ions to diethylamine. These results clearly show that the maximum charge states and charge state distributions of ions formed by electrospray ionization are influenced by solvents that are more volatile than water. Addition of even small amounts of two solvents that are less volatile than water, ethylene glycol and 2-methoxyethanol, also results in preferential deprotonation of higher charge state ions of small peptides, but these solvents actually produce an enhancement in the higher charge state ions for both cytochrome c and myoglobin. For instruments that have capabilities that improve with lower m/z, this effect could be taken advantage of to improve the performance of an analysis.Electrospray ionization (ESI) [1] is well recognized as a soft ionization method for producing gas-phase ions of large biopolymers, such as oligonucleotides, proteins, and even noncovalent biomolecular complexes [2]. In combination with mass spectrometry, molecular masses of large molecules can be measured with unprecedented accuracy [3]. The multiple charging of large analyte ions that occurs with ESI has the advantage that the masses of very large molecules can be measured using mass spectrometers with upper mass-to-charge limits. One outstanding challenge in ESI mass spectrometry is to accurately predict the observed charge state distribution of a large molecule, given its primary structure, the composition of the solvent system from which the ions are formed, instrumental conditions, etc. Several factors have been shown to influence the observed charge state distribution, including molecular conformation [4][5][6], acid-base chemistry both in solution and in the gas phase [7][8][9][10][11], solvent composition [8], instrumental factors, etc. Several models have been proposed to qualitatively account for some of these effects [12][13][14][15]. A general conclusion from several studies is that the electrospray charge state distributions of proteins formed from denaturing solution conditions are shifted to higher charge states (lower m/z) than those formed from solutions in which the protein has signific...

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