Profiling of 2-aminoacridone derivatised glycans by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Three different types of N-glycans, high-mannose, complex and hybrid, have been derivatised with 2-aminoacridone and analysed by electrospray mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using a hybrid quadrupole orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer, fitted with a nanoflow electrospray ion source. Relatively simple MS/MS fragmentation patterns have been observed for each type of glycan, allowing rapid elucidation of the order in which the monosaccharide residues making up these glycans are linked to one another.