Ion mobility-mass spectrometry is a useful tool in separation of biological isomers, including clinically relevant analytes such as 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) and its epimer, 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (epi25OHD3). Previous research indicates that these epimers adopt different gas-phase sodiated monomer structures, either the "open" or "closed" conformer, which allow 25OHD3 to be readily resolved in mixtures. In the current work, alternative metal cation adducts are investigated for their relative effects on the ratio of "open" and "closed conformers. Alkali and alkaline earth metal adducts caused changes in the 25OHD3 conformer ratio, where the proportion of the "open" conformer generally increases with the size of the metal cation in a given group. As such, the ratio of the "open" conformer, which is unique to 25OHD3 and absent for its epimer, can be increased from approximately 1:1 for the sodiated monomer to greater than 8:1 for the barium adduct. Molecular modeling and energy calculations agree with the experimental results, indicating that the Gibbs free energy of conversion from the "closed" to the "open" conformation decreased with increasing cation size, correlating with the variation in ratio between the conformers. This work demonstrates the effect of cation adducts on gas-phase conformations of small, flexible molecules and offers an additional strategy for resolution of clinically relevant epimers.
Keywords: Cations; Ion Mobility Spectrometry; Mass Spectrometry; Theoretical Modeling; Vitamin D.