0,2An cross-ring cleavage as a general diagnostic tool for glycan assignment in glycoconjugate mixtures

In contrast to proteomics significantly less efficient analytical tools are presently available for high throughput glycomics using mass spectrometry. In this article, a strategy to use the (0,2)A(n) ring cleavage ion at the reducing end of free glycans as a diagnostic ion for assignment of free glycans, in presence of glycopeptides containing similar glycosylation patterns, is presented for rapid distinction in complex mixtures by mass spectrometry. The MS to MS/MS automatic switching, already previously introduced for the on-line LC-MS and CE-MS analysis, is shown in this contribution to be highly functional to obtain diagnostic fragmentation patterns of free glycan precursors in rapid screening of highly complex glycoconjugate mixtures obtained from clinical samples, namely from the urine of patients suffering from congenital disorders of glycosylation. Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are inherited metabolic diseases based on defects in the glycosylation pathways of glycoconjugates. The urine of CDG patients was reported to contain O-glycans and glycosylated amino acids at concentrations two to three orders of magnitude higher in comparison with the healthy control, characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity concerning the type, number, and values of molecular ions. Using the (0,2)A(n) ring cleavage ion approach by tandem MS, it was possible to sort out free glycans and get them assigned.