Application of field desorption mass spectrometry for the analysis of sphingoglycolipids

Simple molecular species of intact ceramide mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, and pentasaccharides purified by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were analyzed by field desorption mass spectrometry (FD-MS). The analysis of sphingoglycolipids without chemical derivatization by FD-MS not only provides molecular information but also significant characteristic fragments for structural determination due to the cleavage of glycosidic bonds. These ions, therefore, give information on the molecular species of sphingoglycolipids and sugar sequences of their oligosaccharides. Intact GL1a, GL2a, and an equimolar mixture of GL1a and GL2a were also analyzed by FD-MS. In the spectra, the ions, (M + H)+, (M + Na)+, and (M + H- H2O)+, were observed as high intensive ions and different molecular species ions thereafter could be identified in all spectra. The FD-MS method is particularly useful in structural studies of glycolipids from natural sources.