Analysis of non-derivatised bacteriohopanepolyols by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Talbot, Helen M., Sidgwick, Frances R., Bischoff, Juliane, Osborne, Kate A., Rush, Darci, Sherry, Angela and Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L. (2016) Analysis of non-derivatised bacteriohopanepolyols by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 30 (19). pp. 2087-2098. ISSN 0951-4198

Preview

Text Analysisofnonderivatisedbacteriohopanepolyolsbyultrahighperformanceliquidchromatographytandemmassspectrometryacceptedforpublicationversion.pdf - Accepted Version Download (918kB) | Preview

Abstract

RATIONALE: Traditional investigation of bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) has relied on derivatisation by acetylation prior to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or liquid chromatography/MS (LC/MS) analysis. Here, modern chromatographic techniques (ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)) and new column chemistries were tested to develop a method for BHP analysis without the need for derivatisation.

METHODS: Bacterial culture and sedimentary lipid extracts were analysed using a Waters Acquity Xevo TQ-S triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) mode. Waters BEH C18 and ACE Excel C18 were the central columns evaluated using a binary solvent gradient with 0.1% formic acid in the polar solvent phase in order to optimise performance and selectivity.

RESULTS: Non-amine BHPs and adenosylhopane showed similar performance on each C18 column; however, BHP-containing terminal amines were only identified eluting from the ultra-inert ACE Excel C18 column. APCI-MS/MS product ion scans revealed significant differences in fragmentation pathways from previous methods for acetylated compounds. The product ions used for targeted multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) are summarised.

CONCLUSIONS: UPLC/MS/MS analysis using an ACE Excel C18 column produced superior separation for amine-containing BHPs and reduced run times from 60 to 9 min compared with previous methods. Unexpected variations in fragmentation pathways between structural subgroups must be taken into account when optimising MRM transitions for future quantitative studies.

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads