Analysis of N-Linked Glycan using MALDImini™-1 Compact MALDI Digital Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer: Structural Analysis and Identification of Sialyl Linkage Isomers

Although mass spectrometry (MS) of glycans has become a general technique, analysis of acidic glycans containing sialic acids is still difficult. In particular, because sialyl linkage isomers have the same mass, identification is extremely difficult, and is impossible in some cases, even when using a separation technique such as liquid chromatography (LC). However, since differences in linkage types play an important role in antigenicity and viral infection, the linkage type is one important property of glycans.
This article introduces the results of an analysis of N-linked glycans treated by SALSA (sialic acid linkage-specific alkylamidation), which is a Shimadzu-developed derivatization technique for analysis of sialyl linkage isomers, using a Shimadzu MALDImini-1 compact MALDI digital ion trap mass spectrometer.