Mass spectrometry Flashcards
What technology converged to result in the applicability of proteomics?
- 2D gel electrophoresis
- Mass spectrometry
- Nucleotide sequencing ESTs/genome scale
- Algorithms
- Genetic approaches
- Complex mixture analysis LC-MS(/MS)
- Chip-based approaches
Describe the history of mass spectrometry (date, event, person)
Date: 1897
Event: First mass spectrometer
-Demonstrated that electrons have mass
Person: Thomson
Date: Near 1900
Event: Mapped many isotopes with new mass spectrometer
Person: Aston
Date: 1946
Event: Time-of-flight mass spectrometer
Person: Stephens
Date: 1960s
Event: Quadruple mass spectrometer
Person: Paul and Steinweidel
Date: 1960s
Event: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
Person: Golhke
Date: 1968
Event: Electrospray ionization (ESI)
Person: Dole et al.
Date: 1980s
Event: Fast atom bombardment (FAB)
Person: Comigarow et al.
Date: 1989
Event: Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI)
Person: Tanaka et al.
Date: 1989
Event: Electrospray ionisation (ESI) of biomolecules
Person: Fenn et al.
Date: 1990
Event: Postsource decay-Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (PSD-MALDI)
Person:Spengler et al.
Date: 2000
Event: Orbitrap
Person: Makarov
Who invented the first mass spectrometer and what in what year?
Thomson, 1897
Who mapped many isotopes with new mass spectrometer and what in what year?
Aston, near 1900
Who invented time of flight mass spectrometer and what in what year?
Stephens, near 1946
Who invented quadruple mass spectrometer and what in what year?
Paul and Steinweidel, 1960s
Who invented gas chromatography mass spectrometer and what in what year?
Golhke, 1960s
Who invented electrospray ionisation and what in what year?
Dole et al., 1968
Who invented fast atom bombardment and what in what year?
Comigarow et al., 1980s
Who invented Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) and what in what year?
Tanaka et al., 1989
Who invented Electrospray ionisation (ESI) of biomolecules and in what year?
Fenn et al., 1989
Who invented Postsource decay-Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (PSD-MALDI) and in what year?
Spengler et al., 1990
Who invented Orbitrap and in what year?
Makarov, 2000
What are the 3 major components of a mass spectrometer
o Ion source
o Mass analyser
o Detector
What is the role of the ion source in a mass spectrometer?
Ionise atoms or molecules
What are ions?
• Ions are atoms or molecules which have been ionised, that is have a positive or negative charge
What are commonly used ionisation stems for mass spectrometry biological samples?
• Commonly used methods for biological samples
o Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI)
o Electrospray ionisation (ESI)
What are less commonly used ionisation stems for mass spectrometry biological samples?
• Less frequently used methods
o Electron ionisation (EI)
o Chemical ionisation (CI)
o Fast atom bombardment (FAB)
Describe the role of the mass analyser in mass spectrometry
o Mass analyser
Measure mass
Is there only one type of mass analyser in mass spectrometry?
There are several types of mass analyser
Some mass spectrometers have more than one mass analyser that are used in tandem
What law do mass analysers rely on in mass spectrometry?
All rely on Newton’s second law: Force= mass x acceleration
If there is a constant force, degree of acceleration is proportional to the mass-can calculate mass of ions with this principle
What are the components of the time of flight mass analyser?
• Components:
o Ion source
o Electric grid to apply a pulse of acceleration voltage to accelerate ions down flight tube
o Detector
Is there air in the flight tube the time of flight mass analyser?
• The ions are accelerated down a flight tube in a vacuum
Describe how the time of flight mass analyser calculates mass using its detector
o The time taken between acceleration pulse and detector hit is proportional to mass-to-charge ratio
o Ion that is lightest will hit detector first
o Ion that is heaviest will hit detector last
What are two main potential issues with the traditional linear method of the time-of-flight analyser? Describe
o Positional spread-
Issues-
• What if ion A and B have the same m/z but are formed at different positions within the source region?
• When they reach the flight region, ion B will have a higher velocity than ion A
o Velocity spread
Issues-
• Ion A and B have the same m/z and are formed at the same position within the source region, but B has a larger initial velocity than A
What is a solution to the positional spread issue of the linear time-of-flight analyser?
• Measure ion migration at different points in time
• Want to locate detector at space-focus position
o Input time in which location is expected as per prior knowledge
What is a solution to the velocity spread issue of the linear time-of-flight analyser? Describe
• Delayed Extraction
o Delay typical nsec to usec during this time velocity spread causes the ions to spreadout
o An extraction pulse is then used to extract the ions for analysis
o The extraction pulse transmits more energy to the ions that remained in the source for longer (slower ion)
That is, the slow ion receives more energy and catches up with the fast ion
What is reflectron time-of-flight spectrometry? What is its advantage?
• Reflectron time-of-flight spectrometry
o The ions are accelerated down a flight tube
o Enter electrostatic repeller (or ion mirror) where their flight is reversed
o The ion with the higher velocity penetrates further into the ion mirror than the ion with the same mass but lower velocity and hence takes longer to be reflected by that ion mirror
o The two ions arrive at the detector at the same time
o Improves resolution
What are the advantages of the time-of-flight mass analyser?
o High ion transmission
o High sensitivity
o Unlimited mass range in theory
But has to be ionizable
o Complete mass spectrum acquired for each ionization pulse
o Ideally matched to MALDI due to the pulsed nature of the laser
o Readily coupled to continuous ion sources (e.g. ESI) via orthogonal injection
o Relatively low cost
o Easy to operate and maintain
o Very good mass resolution with delayed extraction and reflectron mode
High resolution- 10,000-80,000
Good mass accuracy- typically 1-10ppm
What are the biological applications of the time of flight mass analyser? Describe
o Protein identification PMF Tandem MS o Protein characterization Post-translational modifications o Protein quantitation Signal intensity proportional to abundance o Other biological molecules Glycomics Metabolomics Lipidomics o Mass spectrometry imaging
What is the purpose of the detector in mass spectrometry?
o Detector
Report signals of mass analyser
Converts the impact of ion to measurable electric current
The analogue signal is converted to a digital format that is process by computers into an easily interpretable format
Contrast the past detectors vs current detectors in mass spectrometry
The first detectors were photographic paper of phosphorous screens of cathode ray tubes
Replaced by variety of electronic ion detectors
What is the role of mass spectrometers and an advantage of such spectrometers?
- Mass spectrometers analyse the mass to charge (m/z) ratio of ions
- Mass spectrometers are fast, accurate and extremely sensitive
Is there only one type of mass spectrometer available?
• Wide variety of mass spectrometers available
What is the quality of the spectrum assessed by in mass spectrometers?
• The quality of the spectrum is assessed by resolution and mass accuracy
What are limitations of mass spectrometers?
• Limitations-
o Sample is consumed during analysis
o If it can’t be ionised, it can’t be analysed
o Data processing is heavily reliant on databases of known information
What is the process of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation and what does it form?
UV (or occasionally infrared) lasers are focused on a small (100u2m) spot containing sample/matrix
o Sample and matrix mixed together and spotted onto a metal target
The matrix absorbs the laser energy which is transferred to the analyte resulting in a mixture of analyte and matrix ions
Most of the ions are the form [M+H]+
• M= Analyte
• H= proton
What is the sample composed of in a MALDI ionization system?
• Sample a mixture of the analyte and a matrix
Are matrices specific or general to the sample?
o Different types of matrix are used depending on the sample
Which matrix is used for analysis of tryptic peptides and what is the general purpose of such an analysis?
α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid is optimum matrix for analysis of tryptic peptides for protein identification
Which matrix is used for analysis of phospho/glycopeptides and what is the general purpose of such an analysis?
2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid is optimum matrix for analysis of phosphopeptides (for post-translation modifications) and glycopeptides
Which matrix is used for analysis of intact proteins?
Sinapinic acid is optimum matrix for analysis of intact proteins
What do all MALDI matrices have in common and why?
o Commonalities are the benzene rings as the matrix is working in conjunction with a laser (compounds have to absorb wavelength of laser)
Describe how electrospray ionisation works and how each component is fed into the system. What is the result of this type of ionisation?
o Electrospray ionisation (ESI)
Analyte solution passes through a fine, charged needle
• Black cable brings in 2000-3000V of current to box containing liquid so that voltage is carried by it
A fine mist of ions is generated
The ions desolvate (aided by sheath gas, typically nitrogen)
• Sheath gas comes in through clear cable through emitter
After emitter, short air gap (05.-1cm) before an orifice (a hole where the ions pass through and enter the instrument)
o Instrument running at high vacuum on the inside
o Removal of air befssssore analysis in mass analyser
Multiply charged ions are formed [M+nH]n+
• Analytes often flow through from an HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) to a green tube connecting to the needle
On a MALDI data output graph, what is on the x axis (and its range compared to ESI), what is on the y axis, what does each line represent and what does the height of the peaks represent?
• Data output- MALDI
o Mass/charge (m/z) on x axis, abundance %/ion count on y axis
m/z scale goes down to 800 and up to 3500
• Higher m/z than ESI
o Each line is a different analyte
o Height of the peaks is signal intensity (normalised to 100%)
What two graphs can ESI ionization method output produce?
Spectrum-
Total ion chromatogram (TIC)
Describe what is on the x axis (and its range compared to MALDI) and Y axis of a spectrum ESI graph
• Mass/charge (m/z) on x axis, abundance %/ion count on y axis on spectrum graph
o m/z scale goes down to 350 and up to 1650
Lower m/z than MALDI
Describe what is on the x and y axis, as well as what the total ion chromatogram from an ESI is
Total ion chromatogram (TIC)
• Collecting samples as they elute off an HPLC column
• Time on x axis, ion count on y axis
What is resolution of mass spectrometry data measured by and why is resolution important?
• Resolution is measured by:
o Full width at half maximum (FWHM)
Measure how wide the peak is at half its height
o Better the resolution, the more information you can gain
Sort data output from time of flight spectrometry in order of resolution: reflection delayed extraction, linear, linear delayed extraction
o Resolution: linear
Why is resolution of mass spectrometry data important in biological samples?
o Naturally occurring isotopes are similar but it is important to distinguish between them
What is the monoisotopic mass of a peptide and how can you recognise it on a graph?
The monoisotopic mass is the mass of a peptide that is composed only of the most abundant isotopes
• The monoisotopic peak is the first in the series of peaks
When is there a higher probability that a mass spectrometry sample contains unusual isotopes? How can this be recognised?
Bigger molecule= high probability that it contains unusual isotopes
• The higher the probability that the monoisotopic peak will no longer be the highest
How is mass accuracy measured in mass spectrometry and when is it relevant?
o Relevant when searching data
ppm error= (observed mass- actual mass)/actual mass *1000000
What is the mass accuracy for time of flight mass spectrometry instruments?
o For Time Of Flight instruments, typically 0.1Da or 50 parts per million (ppm) but this depends on the size of the peptide