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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Identification and Characterization of Protein Glycosylation using Specific Endo- and Exoglycosidases
Published on: December 26, 2011
Direct Experimental Characterization of Glycosyl Cations by Infrared Ion Spectroscopy
Hidde Elferink1, Marion E Severijnen2, Jonathan Martens2
1Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials , Synthetic Organic Chemistry , Heyendaalseweg 135 , 6525 AJ , Nijmegen , The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Glycosyl cations are crucial intermediates formed during enzymatic and chemical glycosylation. The intrinsic high reactivity and short lifetime of these reaction intermediates make them very challenging to characterize using spectroscopic techniques. Herein, we report the use of collision induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry to generate glycosyl cations in the gas phase followed by infrared ion spectroscopy using the FELIX infrared free electron laser. The experimentally observed IR spectra were compared to DFT calculated spectra enabling the detailed structural elucidation of elusive glycosyl oxocarbenium and dioxolenium ions.
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