Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Flashcards
What is mass spectometry?
Sorting ions based on their mass/charge ratio
What are the four parts of a mass spec machine?
- front end
- ion source
- mass analyzer
- detector
How does the mass analyzer work?
It pulls on ions to different degrees depending on their mass.
When was electron spray ionization developed?
1984
When was the matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) of proteins developed, and when was the nobel prize?
1988, 2002.
What are the applications of mass spec?
- medicine (hospitals)
- food and agriculture
- chemistry
- biology
- isotope dating (ink in paintings)
- space exploration
- explosive detectors (at airports)
What are the front ends?
They are a separation from the MS so the sample does not have to be directly loaded.
What are the different types of ionization?
- Hard: EI
- Soft: ESI (electrospray ionization), MALDI
- inductively coupled plasma (ICP)
What are the different types of mass selection?
- sector
- quadrupole
- ion trap
- orbitrap
- fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance
What are the different types of detectors?
- TOF
- electron multiplier
Describe direct injection into the MS.
There are no front ends. Can use any type of molecules
Describe gas chromatography-MS.
Might want to look at commercial fish oil to determine how many good oils are actually in it. This uses a front end and can only be done with small, volatile molecules. Gas flows through the column, and molecules separate based on boiling point rather than mass. The higher the bp, the later it will come out of the MS.
Describe LC-MS injection into the MS
Liquid chromatography, can be done with all molecules. Uses a front end.
Describe MALDI injection into the MS
Can be done with all molecules, injected into the front end.
Describe injection of solids into MS.
Does not use front end. Direct injection. Can test any type of molecule (i.e. banana!) using a dipstick.
Descrbie the setup of reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography.
solvent (A and B) -> mixer -> auto sampler -> column -> detector (MS, UV, etc)
What types of column materials can be used for HPLC?
in order of increasing polarity:
- C18
- C8
- C4
- cyano
- phenyl
- amino
Difference between HPLC and ultra performance /pressure liquid chromatography?
shorter runs because higher pressure in ultra PLC
Describe MALDI
- a metal plate covered in a matrix where samples are spotted onto
- a laser source hitting the plate, then the plate transferring energy to the analyte
- molecules then ionized and sucked into the detector
Describe an application of MALDI
It can be used in hospitals to look at lipids belonging to bacteria.
What is a downside to MALDI?
It can be cumbersome to mix the sample to the matrix on the metal plate.
Describe electrospray ionization (ESI)
- sample injected using LC
- gas flows through the chamber in order to evaporate solvent
- sample is sprayed into the chamber and forms a charged parent droplet
- solvent evaporates leaving a smaller charged droplet
charged droplet -> charged progeny droplets -> naked charged analyte
What are the limitations of ESI?
- only works if the solvent can be evaporated
- must have a high current
Describe the quadrupole mass analyzer.
- has 4 rods wich interchange in polarity
- has ion size-dependent filters
- can select for ion size by changing the strength of the electric field of the quadrupole
Describe the triple quad
This is a collision cell quadrupole, or MS/MS
- Q1: first select for size molecule after ionizatin
- Q2: molecules collide with gas and fragment
- Q3: then select for the new size molecule of interest to weed out things you don’t want to analyze
- molecules then go to detector
Describe the TOF (time of flight) mass analyzer.
It relies on long flight tubes and the positioning of mirrors to separate molecules based on size that fly at different speeds. (i.e. larger molecules take longer to reach the detector).
Why is a W shaped flight tube used in a TOF mass analyzer?
It makes the path length longer for a better separation of molecules.
Describe the electron multiplier detector.
Single ions are amplified in an electron multiplier which gives an electrical signal that is measured.
Describe the orbitrap mass analyzer.
- a trap is within a magnet that has an electric field, causing ions to oscillate inside
- moving ion rings around the central electrode induce an image current on the outder electrode
- the wall of the trap is the detector, and the frequency of oscillations is proportional to m/z (i.e. how long the molecule flies around tells us how large it is)
Which bonds are easiest to fragment in MS/MS
weaker bonds such as C-N, P-O. Never C-C
What does MS/MS tell us about vitamin B12 content of old and young bacteria species?
It tells us that the older ones have a type of B12 that is different and not usable by humans.
What does it mean to fragment a parent peak?
It means to zoom in to look at high energy, and more peaks
What is the problem with the ‘omics’?
They are all separated and not integrated, though the instruments we all use are the same!
Why would we study proteomics?
- functional macromolecules of the cell
- concentration is different than that of mRNA
- post-translational modifications are diverse
- alternative splicing gives different protein isoforms
What is proteomics?
the study of the full set of proteins involved in structural, metabolic and regulatory functions of a cell or organism under a given set of conditions
What can the study of proteins be useful for?
- disease: expression may go up or down
- diagnostics: protein biomarker
- basic science (i.e. localization of proteins, protein interactions)
What is the typical workflow of studying proteiomics?
- obtain protein sample
- separate proteins
- identify/quantify proteins (digest, fractionate, identify)
Why do we have to cut proteins into peptides, fractionate, and do MS/MS to sequence proteins?
Because mass spec can not tell the sequence, just the mass.