The analysis of intact proteins (top-down strategy) by mass spectrometry has great potential to elucidate proteoform variation, including patterns of post-translational modifications (PTMs), which may not be discernable by analysis of peptides alone (bottom-up approach). To maximize sequence coverage and localization of PTMs, various fragmentation modes have been developed to produce fragment ions from deep within intact proteins. Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) has recently been shown to produce high sequence coverage and PTM retention on a variety of proteins, with increasing evidence of efficacy on a chromatographic time scale. However, utilization of UVPD for high-throughput top-down analysis to date has been limited by bioinformatics. Here, we detected 153 proteins and 489 proteoforms using UVPD and 271 proteins and 982 proteoforms using higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD) in a comparative analysis of HeLa whole-cell lysate by qualitative top-down proteomics. Of the total detected proteoforms, 286 overlapped between the UVPD and HCD datasets, with 68% of proteoforms having C-scores greater than 40 for UVPD and 63% for HCD. The average sequence coverage (28% ± 20% for UVPD versus 17% ± 8% for HCD, p < 0.0001) found to be higher for UVPD than HCD, and with a trend toward improvement in q-value for the UVPD dataset. This study demonstrates the complementarity of UVPD and HCD for more extensive protein profiling and proteoform characterization.

The lipid A domain of the endotoxic lipopolysaccharide layer of gram negative bacteria is comprised of a di-glucosamine backbone to which a variable number of variable length fatty acyl chains are anchored. Traditional characterization of these tails and their linkages by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or mass spectrometry is time-consuming and necessitates databases of pre-existing structures for structural assignment. Here, we introduce an automated de novo approach for characterization of lipid A structures that is completely database-independent. A hierarchical decision-tree MSn method is used in conjunction with a hybrid activation technique, UVPDCID, to acquire characteristic fragmentation patterns of lipid A variants from a number of Gram-negative bacteria. Structural assignments are derived from integration of key features from three to five spectra and automated interpretation is achieved in minutes without the need for pre-existing information or candidate structures. This utility of this strategy is demonstrated for a mixture of lipid A structures from an enzymatically modified E. coli lipid A variant. Twenty-seven lipid A structures were discovered, many of which were isomeric, showcasing the need for a rapid de novo approach to lipid A characterization.

UV-POSIT (Ultraviolet Photodissociation Online Structure Interrogation Tools) is a suite of web-based tools designed to facilitate the rapid interpretation of data from native mass spectrometry experiments making use of 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD). The suite includes four separate utilities which assist in the calculation of fragment ion abundances as a function of backbone cleavage sites and sequence position; the localization of charge sites in intact proteins; the calculation of hydrogen elimination propensity for a-type fragment ions; and mass-offset searching of UVPD spectra to identify unknown modifications and assess false positive fragment identifications. UV-POSIT is implemented as a Python/Flask web application hosted at http://uv-posit.cm.utexas.edu . UV-POSIT is available under the MIT license, and the source code is available at https://github.com/jarosenb/UV_POSIT . Graphical Abstract.

The tremendous number of peptides identified in current bottom-up mass spectrometric workflows, although impressive for high-throughput proteomics, results in little selectivity for more targeted applications. We describe a strategy for cysteine-selective proteomics based on a tagging method that installs a S-Se bond in peptides that is cleavable upon 266 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD). The alkylating reagent, N-(phenylseleno)phthalimide (NPSP), reacts with free thiols in cysteine residues and attaches a chromogenic benzeneselenol (SePh) group. Upon irradiation of tagged peptides with 266 nm photons, the S-Se bond is selectively cleaved, releasing a benzeneselenol moiety corresponding to a neutral loss of 156 Da per cysteine. Herein we demonstrate a new MS/MS scan mode, UVPDnLossCID, which facilitates selective screening of cysteine-containing peptides. A "prescreening" event occurs by activation of the top N peptide ions by 266 nm UVPD. Peptides exhibiting a neutral loss corresponding to one or more SePh groups are reactivated and sequenced by CID. Because of the low frequency of cysteine in the proteome, unique cysteine-containing peptides may serve as surrogates for entire proteins. UVPDnLossCID does not generate as many peptide spectrum matches (PSMs) as conventional bottom-up methods; however, UVPDnLossCID provides far greater selectivity.

Recent mass spectrometric studies have reported enhanced proteome coverage by employing multiple proteases or by using multiple or alternative activation methods such as electron-transfer dissociation in combination with collisional-activated dissociation (CAD). In this study the use of 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation for the analysis of thousands of Halobacterium salinarum peptides generated by four proteases (trypsin, LysC, GluC, and chymotrypsin) was evaluated in comparison with higher energy CAD (HCD). Proteins digested by trypsin resulted in greater sequence coverage for HCD over UVPD. LysC digestion resulted in similar sequence coverages for UVPD and HCD; however, for proteins digested by GluC and chymotrypsin 5-10% more sequence coverage on average was achieved by UVPD. HCD resulted in more peptide identifications (at 1% false discovery rate) for trypsin (4356 peptides by HCD versus 3907 peptides by UVPD), whereas UVPD identified greater numbers of peptides for LysC digests (1033 peptides by UVPD versus 844 HCD), chymotrypsin digests (3219 peptides for UVPD versus 2921 for HCD), and GluC digests (2834 peptides for UVPD and 2393 for HCD) and correspondingly greater numbers of proteins.

Abstract. Characterization of the cysteine content of proteins is a key aspect of proteomics. By defining both the total number of cysteines and their bound/ unbound state, the number of candidate proteins considered in database searches is significantly constrained. Herein we present a methodology that utilizes 266 nm UVPD to count the number of free and bound cysteines in intact proteins. In order to attain this goal, proteins were derivatized with N-(phenylseleno)phthalimide (NPSP) to install a selectively cleavable Se-S bond upon 266 UVPD. The number of Se-S bonds cleaved upon UVPD, a process that releases SePh moieties, corresponds to the number of cysteine residues per protein.

A combination of surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) and density functional theory (DFT) was used to study the adsorption of the dihydroxybenzene (DH) isomers on silver nanostructures (SNSs). No evidence was observed for the oxidation of any of the DH isomers during adsorption on SNSs. It was found that the SNSs weakened intermolecular hydrogen bonding in thin DH layers adsorbed on SNSs versus the bulk powders with the effect being more pronounced for para-dihydroxybenzene (PDH) than ortho-dihydroxybenzene (ODH) and meta-dihydroxybenzene (MDH). DFT simulations of the infrared spectra of ODH and MDH dimers were good reproductions of the SEIRA spectra and infrared spectra of ODH/MDH powder, but DFT dimer infrared simulations were less effective at modeling the PDH results due to the large variations of hydrogen bonding between PDH films formed on SNSs versus PDH powder. Hydrogen-bonding effects were observed between acetone and both PDH and ODH in thin layers adsorbed on SNSs, and C−H•••O hydrogen bonding was also seen between n-heptane and PDH and ODH in adsorption experiments on SNSs. These hydrogen-bonding effects were not detected between MDH and either acetone or n-heptane due to differences in resonance effects between MDH versus ODH and PDH.

Abstract. A method to facilitate the characterization of stapled or cyclic peptides is reported via an arginine-selective derivatization strategy coupled with MS/MS analysis. Arginine residues are converted to ornithine residues through a deguanidination reaction that installs a highly selectively cleavable site in peptides. Upon activation by CID or UVPD, the ornithine residue cyclizes to promote cleavage of the adjacent amide bond. This Arg-specific process offers a unique strategy for site-selective ring opening of stapled and cyclic peptides. Upon activation of each derivatized peptide, site-specific backbone cleavage at the ornithine residue results in two complementary products: the lactam ring-containing portion of the peptide and the aminecontaining portion. The deguanidination process not only provides a specific marker site that initiates fragmentation of the peptide but also offers a means to unlock the staple and differentiate isobaric stapled peptides.