Improving Peak Capacity in Glycan Ion Mobility Separations through Traveling Wave-Based Ion Heating

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Glycoscience

Background:

• Complex carbohydrates, like N-linked glycans, are crucial biomolecules involved in signaling, recognition, and immune responses.
• Ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) is a powerful tool for carbohydrate analysis but faces challenges due to glycan isomeric and conformational heterogeneity.
• Existing IMS-MS methods struggle with peak capacity and resolving complex glycan mixtures, limiting routine application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a traveling wave-based ion heating strategy to enhance glycan analysis using IMS-MS.
• To improve peak capacity and resolution for individual and mixed glycan species.
• To assess the impact of the ion heating strategy on sensitivity and resolution.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a traveling wave-based ion heating strategy by activating traveling wave conditions.
• Analysis of individual and mixed glycan species using the developed ion heating method.
• Comparison of results with glycans analyzed under gentle traveling wave conditions, assessing peak capacity, resolution, and sensitivity.

Main Results:

• The ion heating strategy significantly improved peak capacity for both individual and mixed glycan species.
• Comparable resolution to gentle traveling wave conditions was achieved without significant loss in sensitivity.
• Isomeric glycans demonstrated scalable resolution through repeated cycling, with minimal ion loss.

Conclusions:

• The developed traveling wave-based ion heating strategy effectively enhances peak capacity and resolution in IMS-MS analysis of glycans.
• This approach offers a broadly implementable solution for improving the analysis of complex carbohydrates on traveling wave IMS-MS platforms.
• The strategy holds potential for broader applications in analyzing other molecular classes requiring improved IMS-MS peak capacities.