The N-glycome of human plasma

N-linked glycans isolated from human plasma proteins have been profiled and sequenced by mass spectrometry using an ion trap instrument (ITMSn). The released glycans were prepared as reduced, methylated analogues and directly infused into a chip-based nanoelectrospray ionization system and analyzed by ITMSn. The resulting mass profiles (MS1) of IgG-depleted and nondepleted plasma samples were contrasted and these results were again compared with recent literature reports. Before depletion, approximately 50 independent glycan ions were detected; this more than doubled to 106 after depletion. The mass range profiled was 1-5 kDa which included many doubly and triply charged ions that were resolved by higher MS resolution. Selected ions in the depleted sample were disassembled to define their detailed structure providing a high-performance sequencing result. The simplicity of this nonchromatographic, direct infusion and gas-phase structural characterization compares most favorably with the latest reports using alternative instrumentation and adjunct techniques.