Tandem mass spectrometry of oligosaccharides
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the tandem mass spectrometry of oligosaccharides. Mass spectrometry of oligosaccharides and their derivatives has been revolutionized by soft ionization techniques. The most useful of these techniques thus far is liquid secondary ionization mass spectrometry (LSI-MS), commonly referred to as fast atom bombardment (FAB) ionization. For limited sets of oligosaccharides or glycoconjugates current information can be gathered and that can be used later to identify the already determined structures quickly using micrograms of sample. This chapter describes preliminary experiments necessary to establish a limited database for specific classes of saccharides and gives examples within the area of lactosamine oligomers. A molecular modeling comparison of the glycosidic bonds can be made to provide some rational correlation between the results of the mass spectrometry and the position of linkage. © 1989, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.