Simple Routes to Stable Isotope-Coded Native Glycans

Anal Chem. 2024 Jan 9;96(1):163-169. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c03446. Epub 2023 Dec 28.

Abstract

Understanding the biological role of protein-linked glycans requires the reliable identification of glycans. Isomer separation and characterization often entail mass spectrometric detection preceded by high-performance chromatography on porous graphitic carbon. To this end, stable isotope-labeled glycans have emerged as powerful tools for retention time normalization. Hitherto, such standards were obtained by chemoenzymatic or purely enzymatic methods, which introduce, e.g., 13C-containing N-acetyl groups or galactose into native glycans. Glycan release with anhydrous hydrazine opens another route for heavy isotope introduction via concomitant de-N-acetylation. Here, we describe that de-N-acetylation can also be achieved with hydrazine hydrate, which is a more affordable and less hazardous reagent. Despite the slower reaction rate, complete conversion is achievable in 72 h at 100 °C for glycans with biantennary glycans with or without sialic acids. Shorter incubation times allow for the isolation of intermediate products with a defined degree of free amino groups, facilitating introduction of different numbers of heavy isotopes. Mass encoded glycans obtained by this versatile approach can serve a broad range of applications, e.g., as internal standards for isomer-specific studies of N-glycans, O-glycans, and human milk oligosaccharide by LC-MS on either porous graphitic carbon or─following permethylation─on reversed phase.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carbon / chemistry
  • Graphite* / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Isotopes
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Oligosaccharides / analysis
  • Polysaccharides* / chemistry

Substances

  • Polysaccharides
  • Oligosaccharides
  • Carbon
  • Graphite
  • Isotopes