Multidimensional Analysis of 16 Glucose Isomers by Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Separation Science

Background:

• Accurate identification of carbohydrate isomers is crucial in various scientific fields.
• Distinguishing between enantiomers and isomers of monosaccharides presents analytical challenges.
• Existing methods may lack the resolution for complex carbohydrate mixture analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply a novel method for differentiating monosaccharide isomers and enantiomers.
• To utilize combined ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) for structural analysis.
• To assess the potential of diastereomeric adducts for enhanced molecular recognition.

Main Methods:

• Generation of diastereomeric adducts using enantiomerically pure monosaccharides, peptides/amino acids, and divalent metal ions.
• Analysis of these adducts using combined ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS).
• Determination of collision cross sections (ccs) for various complex ions.

Main Results:

• Mobility distributions and collision cross sections (ccs) were determined for complex ions.
• Combining ccs of three different ions as spatial vectors partially resolved enantiomers.
• Specific enantiomeric pairs including glucose, allose, gulose, galactose, and mannose were delineated.

Conclusions:

• The developed IMS-MS approach using diastereomeric adducts shows promise for identifying sugar isomers.
• Spatial vector analysis of ion mobility data offers a pathway for partial enantiomeric resolution.
• This method provides a unique coordinate system for distinguishing d- and l-carbohydrate entities.