High-resolution separation of bioisomers using ion cloud profiling

Elucidation of complex structures of biomolecules plays a key role in the field of chemistry and life sciences. In the past decade, ion mobility, by coupling with mass spectrometry, has become a unique tool for distinguishing isomers and isoforms of biomolecules. In this study, we develop a concept for performing ion mobility analysis using an ion trap, which enables isomer separation under ultra-high fields to achieve super high resolutions over 10,000. The potential of this technology has been demonstrated for analysis of isomers for biomolecules including disaccharides, phospholipids, and peptides with post-translational modifications.

In summary, we show an ion mobility technology for high resolution structural separation of bioisomers. The DCS-based ion cloud profiling could serve as an alternative means for structural separation of biomolecules. The technology developed here showed distinct advantages with a resolution over 10,000, which represents a significant improvement in analytical technology for biological studies. Moreover, the implementation is very simple with the use of an ion trap, which can perform MS/MS analysis at the same time. Ion trap also is a popular ion processing device in modern hybrid mass spectrometers and the high E/N IM separation performed at low pressure make it highly compatible with coupling to mass analyzers such as Orbitrap and TOF. It is expected that this method can be readily applied for a broad range of applications for biological study.