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Mass spectrometry is a powerful method to study protein complexes; however, biochemical reactions are typically beyond the scope of MS studies. Here, we have studied the gas-phase redox chemistry of the [copper(II) – amyloid β] complex and show that the sequence-dependence of this chemistry reflects key aspects of the known in vitro behaviour of different variants of the peptide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel Pt(IV) complex trans,trans-[Pt(N3)2(Py)2(OH)(OCO-(PEG)2-NHCSNH-Ph-NCS)] (Pt4) conjugates to the side chain of lysine amino acids in proteins under mild conditions. Reaction with myoglobin generated a bioconjugate that was stable in the dark, but released a Pt(IV) prodrug upon visible light irradiation. A similar procedure was used to conjugate Pt4 to the antibody trastuzumab, resulting in the first photoactivatable Pt(IV)-antibody conjugate, demonstrating potential for highly selective cancer phototherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stable complex [bis(toluene-3,4-dithiolato)copper(III)][NEt3H] has been synthesised and characterised as a square-planar Cu(III) complex by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and DFT calculations. Intriguingly, when fragmented in FTICR-MS, an unusual [(toluene-3,4-dithiolate)Cu(III)(peroxide)]− complex is formed by reaction with oxygen. Natural 1,2-dithiolenes known to bind molybdenum might stabilise Cu(III) in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron oxide nano-crystals 0.1–1.1 μm in diameter were generated on sulfur-doped amorphous carbon surfaces by electron beam irradiation of the novel 13e− high-spin complex [Fe(4-methyl-1,2-benzenedithiolate)2][NHEt3] encapsulated in a triblock copolymer. Possible relevance to iron nano-mineralization from Fe–S ferredoxin proteins and iron dysregulation in neurological disorders is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass spectrometry has been applied to determine the deamidation sites and the aggregation region of the deamidated human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP). Mutant hIAPP with iso-aspartic residue mutations at possible deamidation sites showed very different fibril formation behaviour, which correlates with the observed deamidation-induced acceleration of hIAPP aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron transfer dissociation (ETD) is becoming increasingly important in mass spectrometry-based analysis of peptides and proteins. Supplemental collisional activation of undissociated electron transfer products can significantly increase fragmentation yield and sequence coverage, but hydrogen rearrangements – specifically, transfer of a hydrogen radical from a c to a z fragment – lead to distorted isotope distributions and increased potential for signal overlap. Concomitant collisional activation during the ion/ion reaction significantly reduces these rearrangements, but, in ion traps, also leads to lower reaction rates and reduced overlap of anion and cation clouds. In traveling-wave ion mobility devices, it has been reported – although not under ETD conditions – that significant ion activation can occur depending on the T-wave height and velocity. Here, we investigate this phenomenon in more detail using a commercial instrument (Waters Synapt G2) and report that a similar effect can be induced within the traveling-wave Trap cell where the ETD reaction occurs, using fairly typical T-wave settings. This ion ‘heating’ is demonstrated by analyzing the observed isotope distributions (sensitive to the aforementioned hydrogen rearrangements) of ETD fragments of ubiquitin and substance P. A more detailed investigation of ion activation using cesium iodide clusters (without ETD reagent anions present) shows that the observed behavior is consistent with the known dynamics of ions within traveling-wave devices. The insights gained in this work are potentially relevant both for ‘native ETD’ studies (in which tuning needs to be optimized to avoid unintentional ion activation) as well as the design of future T-wave ETD devices (where this ‘heating’ effect might be exploited to promote fragment release). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the gas-phase structure of ubiquitin and its lysine-to-arginine mutants was investigated using ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) and electron transfer dissociation-mass spectrometry (ETD-MS). Crown ether molecules were attached to positive charge sites of the proteins and the resulting non-covalent complexes were analysed. Collision induced dissociation (CID) experiments revealed relative energy differences between the wild type and the mutant crown-ether complexes. ETD-MS experiments were performed to identify the crown ether binding sites. Although not all of the binding sites could be revealed, the data confirm that the first crown ether is able to bind to the N-terminus. IM-MS experiments show a more compact structure for specific charge states of wild type ubiquitin when crown ethers are attached. However, data on ubiquitin mutants reveal that only specific lysine residues contribute to the effect of charge microsolvation. A compaction is only observed for one of the investigated mutants, in which the lysine has no proximate interaction partner. On the other hand when the lysine residues are involved in salt bridges, attachment of crown ethers has little effect on the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron oxide nano-crystals 0.1-1.1 μm in diameter were generated on sulfur-doped amorphous carbon surfaces by electron beam irradiation of the novel 13e- high-spin complex [Fe(4-methyl-1,2-benzenedithiolate)2][NHEt3] encapsulated in a triblock copolymer. Possible relevance to iron nano-mineralization from Fe-S ferredoxin proteins and iron dysregulation in neurological disorders is discussed.