SLIM Ultrahigh Resolution Ion Mobility Spectrometry Separations of Isotopologues and Isotopomers Reveal Mobility Shifts due to Mass Distribution Changes

Journal Article · Tue Sep 17 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Analytical Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b02808· OSTI ID:1568805

Wojcik, Roza ^[1]; Nagy, Gavril ^[1]; Attah, Isaac K. ^[1]; Webb, Ian K. ^[2]; Garimella, Venkata BS  ^[1]; Weitz, Karl K. ^[1]; Hollerbach, Adam L. ^[1]; Monroe, Matthew E.  ^[1]; Ligare, Marshall R.  ^[1]; Nielson, Felicity F. ^[1]; Norheim, Randolph V. ^[1]; Renslow, Ryan S.  ^[1]; Metz, Thomas O.  ^[1]; Ibrahim, Yehia M.  ^[1]; Smith, Richard D.  ^[1]

---

1. BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
2. Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis

We report on separations of ion isotopologues and isotopomers using ultrahigh-resolution traveling wave-based Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations with serpentine ultralong path and extended routing ion mobility spectrometry coupled to mass spectrometry (SLIM SUPER IMS-MS). Mobility separations of ions from the naturally occurring ion isotopic envelopes (e.g., [M], [M+1], [M+2]…ions) showed the first and second isotopic peaks (i.e. [M+1] and [M+2]) for various tetraalkylammonium ions could be resolved from their respective monoisotopic ion peak ([M]) after SLIM SUPER IMS with resolving powers of ~400-600. Similar separations were obtained for other compounds (e.g., tetrapeptide ions). Greater separation was obtained using argon versus helium drift gas, as expected from the greater reduced mass contribution to ion mobility described by the Mason-Schamp relationship. To more directly explore the role of isotopic substitutions, we studied a mixture of specific isotopically substituted (15N, 13C, and 2H) protonated arginine isotopologues. While the separations in nitrogen were primarily due to their reduced mass differences, similar to the naturally occurring isotopologues, their separations in helium, where higher resolving powers could also be achieved, revealed distinct additional relative mobility shifts. These shifts appeared correlated, after correction for the reduced mass contribution, with changes in the ion center of mass due to the different locations of heavy atom substitutions. The origin of these apparent mass distribution- induced mobility shifts was then further explored using a mixture of Iodoacetyl Tandem Mass Tag (iodoTMT) isotopomers (i.e. each having the same exact mass, but with different isotopic substitution sites). Again, the observed mobility shifts appeared correlated with changes in the ion center of mass leading to multiple monoisotopic mobilities being observed for some isotopomers (up to a ~0.04% difference in mobility). These mobility shifts thus appear to reflect details of the ion structure, derived from the changes due to ion rotation impacting collision frequency or momentum transfer, and highlight the potential for new approaches for ion structural characterization.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1568805
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-147394
• Journal Information: Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 91, Issue 18
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Isotopologues
isotopomers
SLIM
Ion Mobility Specrometry