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Characterization of amino acid‐derived betaines by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Naresh Chary V.,
Dinesh Kumar Ch.,
Vairamani M.,
Prabhakar S.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 1076-5174
DOI - 10.1002/jms.2029
Subject(s) - chemistry , protonation , electrospray ionization , tandem mass spectrometry , amino acid , metabolomics , mass spectrometry , isobaric labeling , amine gas treating , stereochemistry , organic chemistry , protein mass spectrometry , chromatography , ion , biochemistry
Betaines belong to the naturally occurring osmoprotectants or compatible solutes present in a variety of plants, animals and microorganisms. In recent years, metabolomic techniques have been emerging as a fundamental tool for biologists because the constellation of these molecules and their relative proportions provide with information about the actual biochemical condition of a biological system. Therefore, identification and characterization of biologically important betaines are crucial, especially for metabolomic studies. Most of the natural betaines are derived from amino acids and related homologues. Although, theoretically, all the amino acids can be converted to corresponding betaines by simple methylation of the amine group, only a few of the amino acid‐derived betaines were fully characterized in the literature. Here, we report a combined electrospray ionization tandem and high‐resolution mass spectrometry study of all the betaines derived from amino acids, including the isomeric betaines. The decomposition pathway of protonated, sodiated and potassiated molecule ions that enable unambiguous characterization of the betaines including the isomeric betaines and overlapping ionic species of different betaines is distinctive. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.