Using gas-phase guest-host chemistry to probe the structures of b ions of peptides

Middle-sized b(n) (n ≥ 5) fragments of protonated peptides undergo selective complex formation with ammonia under experimental conditions typically used to probe hydrogen-deuterium exchange in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). Other usual peptide fragments like y, a, a*, etc., and small b(n) (n ≤ 4) fragments do not form stable ammonia adducts. We propose that complex formation of b(n) ions with ammonia is characteristic to macrocyclic isomers of these fragments. Experiments on a protonated cyclic peptide and N-terminal acetylated peptides fully support this hypothesis; the protonated cyclic peptide does form ammonia adducts while linear b(n) ions of acetylated peptides do not undergo complexation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the proton-bound dimers of all-Ala b(4), b(5), and b(7) ions and ammonia indicate that the ionizing proton initially located on the peptide fragment transfers to ammonia upon adduct formation. The ammonium ion is then solvated by N(+)-H…O H-bonds; this stabilization is much stronger for macrocyclic b(n) isomers due to the stable cage-like structure formed and entropy effects. The present study demonstrates that gas-phase guest-host chemistry can be used to selectively probe structural features (i.e., macrocyclic or linear) of fragments of protonated peptides. Stable ammonia adducts of b(9), b(9)-A, and b(9)-2A of A(8)YA, and b(13) of A(20)YVFL are observed indicating that even these large b-type ions form macrocyclic structures.