Attachment of small anions to neutral molecules is an important ionization mechanism in negative ion electrospray mass spectrometry. In this report, the tendency for different anions to remain attached to selected analyte compound classes has been systematically investigated. A rationale for the formation and stability of preferred anionic adducts is proposed in light of thermodynamic considerations. A series of collision-induced dissociation experiments reveals that the gas-phase basicities of the deprotonated analyte molecule ([M - H]-) and the anion moiety play important roles in determining the stability of anionic adducts. Adducts of the form [M - H]-...H+...[anion]- manifest increased stability when the two anions have similar gas-phase basicities. Within certain limitations, the difference in deltaG degrees values for proton combination with [M - H]- and with [anion]- can be used as a first-order predictor of adduct stability. In addition, stability increases with the rising gas-phase basicities of the two moieties. The specific interaction between a small inorganic anion (bisulfate) and a neutral analyte molecule (alpha-D-glucose) in the form of multiple hydrogen bonding has also been affirmed by computer modeling to contribute to the stability of some anionic adducts. Last, the gas-phase basicity of deprotonated alpha-D-glucose (i.e., the gas-phase acidity of alpha-D-glucose) is determined by a "bracketing method" to be in the range of 1373-1407 kJ/mol.

The formation and decomposition (postsource decay, PSD) of anionic adducts in negative ion matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry have been studied. Chloride, a small inorganic anion, has been found to form stable anionic adducts with a variety of neutral oligosaccharides that can survive the MALDI process to give readily identifiable signals (with characteristic isotope patterns) allowing subpicomole detection in the best cases. The matrixes that can aid the formation of chloride adducts of oligosaccharides have gas-phase acidities lower than or close to that of HCl (1373 kJ/mol). In PSD experiments, precursor chloride adducts of oligosaccharides yield fragment ions that retain the charge on the sugar molecule rather than solely forming Cl-, and these fragments can provide structurally informative product ions. In negative ion MALDI, highly acidic oligosaccharides do not form adducts with chloride anions, but mildly acidic saccharides (e.g., containing a carboxylic acid group) form both deprotonated molecules and chloride adducts, and each may provide structural information concerning the oligosaccharide upon decomposition.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is demonstrated to be a potentially useful tool for the rapid identification of yeasts, the grouping of Candida albicans strains, and the monitoring of germ tube-specific markers. Co-crystallized with sinapinic acid as the MALDI matrix, intact yeast cells yielded a sufficient number of medium-sized ions (4-15 kDa) in MALDI mass spectra to provide "mass signatures" that were diagnostic of strain type. For most isolates, the mass signatures were affected by the growth medium, length of incubation and the cell preparation method. While the overall past success of this methodology for fungal cells has been relatively low compared to its application to bacteria, fixing the yeast cells in 50% methanol inactivated the cells, reduced cell aggregation in aqueous suspension solution, and more importantly, it significantly improved the mass signature quality. This simple but critical advance in sample treatment improved mass spectrometric signal-to-noise ratios and allowed the identification of yeasts by a mass signature approach. Under optimized conditions, Candida species (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. kefyr), Aspergillus species (A. terreus, A. fumigatus, A. syndowii) and other yeast genera (Cryptococcus neoformans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a Rhodotorula sp.) could be distinguished. Within the C. albicans species, several common ions in the m/z 5,000-10,000 range were apparent in the mass spectra of all tested strains. In addition to shared ions, the mass spectra of individual C. albicans strains permitted grouping of the strains. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to confirm spectral reproducibility and C. albicans strain grouping by mass signatures. Finally, C. albicans germ tubes produced MALDI-TOF mass signatures that differed from yeast forms of this species. This is a rapid, sensitive and simple method for identifying yeasts, grouping strains and following the morphogenesis of C. albicans.

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An experimental approach, electrospray mass spectrometry (ES-MS), and a theoretical approach employing computer modeling, have been used to characterize the interaction between small inorganic anions and neutral analyte molecules that form anionic adduct species in negative mode ES mass spectrometry. Certain anionic adducts of small saccharides (e.g., ␣-D-glucose, sucrose) have shown exceptional stability in ES mass spectra even when internal energies are raised at high "cone" voltages. Computer modeling studies reveal that multiple hydrogen bonding strengthens the interaction between these neutral molecules and the attaching anion. The equilibrium structures and stabilization energies of these anionic adducts have been evaluated by semi-empirical, ab initio, and density functional theory (DFT) methods. Chloride anion is found to be capable of forming "bridging" hydrogen bonds between monosaccharide rings of polysaccharides resulting in the stabilization of chloride adducts, thus reducing the tendency for the glycosidic bond to decompose. Moreover, the tendency for various hydroxyl hydrogens on saccharide molecules to dissociate in the form of HA ( [5][6][7][8], have been used to generate anionic adducts for ES-MS studies. The formation and decomposition of chloride adducts have been further investigated from a thermodynamic standpoint [9 -12]. However, the conditions that favor the formation and survival of anionic adducts have not been extensively defined and are not fully understood. Moreover, the interactions between neutral analyte molecules and the attaching small inorganic anions have not been fully characterized.Various mass spectrometry methods have been applied to probe the interactions between ions and neutral analyte molecules [13][14][15]. These methods typically evaluate enthalpies of ion-molecule reactions or unimolecular dissociations of ionic adducts to derive gasphase thermodynamic properties such as bond energies and ion affinities. In some cases, the nature of the ion-molecule interaction could be further elucidated by determining the difference in the entropy changes for competing decomposition pathways [16,17]. To date, the vast majority of ion-molecule interaction studies performed by mass spectrometry focus on positive ion studies of cationic adduct species, especially protonated molecules [14] and alkali metal adducts [18 -21]. Dication adduct species, such as alkaline earth metal [22] and transition metal [23] adducts of oligosaccharides have also been explored. Small inorganic anions attaching to neutral analyte molecules, on the other hand, have received far less research attention. However, a few studies employing anion attachment in negative ion ES-MS have appeared, such as reports on iodide attachment to acetone [24], chloride attachment to saccharides [1, 10 -12], and cyanide attachment (including covalent) to fullerenes [6,8]. In order to gain insight into the exact nature of the interactions between neutral analyte molecules and attaching small inorganic anions that are responsi...

Reports of anticancer and immunosuppressive properties have spurred recent interest in the bacterially produced prodiginines. We use electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (ES-MS/MS) to investigate prodigiosin, undecylprodiginine, and streptorubin B (butyl-metacycloheptylprodiginine) and to explore their fragmentation pathways to explain the unusual methyl radical loss and consecutive fragment ions that dominate low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra. The competition between the formation of even-electron ions and radical ions is examined in detail. Theoretical calculations are used to optimize the structures and calculate the energies of both reactants and products using the Gaussian 03 program. Results indicate that protonation occurs on the nitrogen atom that initially held no hydrogen, thus allowing formation of a pseudo-seven-membered ring that constitutes the most stable ground state [M ϩ H] ϩ structure. From this precursor, experimental data show that methyl radical loss has the lowest apparent threshold but, alternatively, even-electron fragment ions can be formed by loss of a methanol molecule. Computational modeling indicates that methyl radical loss is the more endothermic process in this competition, but the lower apparent threshold associated with methyl radical loss points to a lower kinetic barrier. Additionally, this characteristic and unusual loss of methyl radical (in combination with weaker methanol loss) from each prodiginine is useful for performing constant neutral loss scans to quickly and efficiently identify all prodiginines in a complex biological mixture without any clean-up or purification. The feasibility of this approach has been proven through the identification of a new, low-abundance prodigiosin analog arising from Hahella

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exert a tumor-promoting effect in a variety of human cancers. This study was designed to identify the molecular mechanisms related to the tumor-promoting effect of MSCs in colorectal cancer. In vitro analysis of colorectal cancer cell lines cultured in MSC conditioned media (MSC-CM) showed that MSC-CM significantly promoted the progression of the cancer cells by enhancing cell proliferation, migration and colony formation. The tumorigenic effect of MSC-CM was attributed to altered expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins and inhibition of apoptosis. Furthermore, MSC-CM induced high level expression of a number of pluripotency factors in the cancer cells. ELISAs revealed MSC-CM contained higher levels of IL-6 and IL-8, which are associated with the progression of cancer. Moreover, MSC-CM downregulated AMPK mRNA and protein phosphorylation, but upregulated mTOR mRNA and protein phosphorylation. The NF-κB pathway was activated after addition of MSC-CM. An in vivo model in Balb/C mice confirmed the ability of MSC-CM to promote the invasion and proliferation of colorectal cancer cells. This study indicates that MSCs promote the progression of colorectal cancer via AMPK/mTOR-mediated NF-κB activation.