Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry analysis of oligosaccharides and oligosaccharide alditols obtained by hydrolysis of agaroses and carrageenans, two important types of red seaweed polysaccharides

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analyses of several oligosaccharides (aldoses) and oligosaccharide alditols derived from agaroses, kappa- and iota-carrageenans using different matrices (2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, nor-harmane, ferulic acid, and the ionic liquid matrices 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid-n-butylamine and ferulic acid-n-butylamine) were conducted. These carbohydrates were selected as model compounds to study the MALDI prompt and post-source decay (PSD) fragmentation processes of both families of oligosaccharides. Sulfated alditols showed in the negative-ion mode the molecular ion as [M−Na]⁻ together with the species yielded by their prompt fragmentation (mainly desulfation) while the sulfated oligosaccharides (aldoses) showed mainly glycosidic prompt fragmentation (glycosidic C-cleavages and desulfation). Non-sulfated aldoses and alditols, which could only be analyzed in positive-ion mode ([M+Na]⁺), did not suffer any prompt fragmentation. The former yielded cross-ring fragmentation in the PSD mode. Best results were obtained by using 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and/or nor-harmane as matrices for all the compounds studied.     

O-methyl oximes of sugars. Analysis as O-trimethylsilyl derivatives by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

The mass spectra of aldoses, partially methylated aldoses, deoxyaldoses, and ketoses containing 3–7 carbons, were recorded on the ethers of the trimethylsilyl O-methyl oxime derivatives. Each compound gave a distinctive spectrum indicating the carbon-chain length and the location of substituents. The gas-liquid chromatographic properties of most compounds in this study were also examined.     

Automated hypoiodite oxidation of carbohydrates

An automated system is described for the hypoiodite oxidation of aldoses and substituted aldoses to the corresponding aldonic acids. Automated determination of the glyoxylic acid and formaldehyde obtained on oxidation with periodate enables the 3-O-, 4-O-, and 6-O-substituted aldonic acids to be distinguished. The method is applied to the analysis of oligosaccharides in column eluates.     

Carbon-13-enriched carbohydrates. Preparation of aldononitriles and their reduction with a palladium catalyst

Cyanide condenses with aldoses at 25° in aqueous solution between pH 7.0–9.0 to produce aldononitriles in high yield. These nitriles may be reduced catalytically over palladium-barium sulfate (5%) at pH 4.2 ± 0.1 and 25° to yield the corresponding aldoses in 60–90% yield, depending on the structure of the nitrile. 1-Amino-1-deoxyalditols are produced in approximately 10% yield, and their formation is favored when hemiacetal formation is hindered in the parent aldose. Generally, the product epimeric aldoses can be separated from contaminating by-products and from each other by ion-exchange and adsorption chromatography. This procedure has been applied to the preparation of [1-¹³C]-enriched pentoses and hexoses.     

Resolution of the enantiomers of aldoses by liquid chromatography of diastereoisomeric 1-(N-acetyl-α-methylbenzylamino)-1-deoxyalditol acetates

Acyclic diastereoisomers, namely, 1-(N-acetyl-α-methylbenzylamino)-1-deoxyalditol acetates are readily obtained by reductive amination of aldoses with chiral α-methylbenzylamine (MBA) in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride, and may be separated by reversed-phase 1.c. and, more effectively, by adsorption 1.c. According to this procedure, enantiomers of the common, neutral aldoses are resolved. In adsorption 1.c., l-l_* [defined as an adduct of an l-aldose and l-(-)-MBA] is eluted before d-l_* for erythrose, xylose, ribose, glucose, 4-O-methylglucose, galactose, and fucose, and the elution order is the reverse for arabinose, lyxose, mannose, rhamnose, and glyceraldehyde. This behavior is probably related to the configuration of C-2 of the aldoses.     

Gas chromatographic determination of polyols and aldoses in human urine as polyacetates and aldononitrile polyacetates

Thirty urinary collections from female and male neonates, juveniles, and adults have been analyzed by a new gas chromatographic (GC) method. Sixty meter high resolution open tubular glass capillary columns with a coating containing a dispersion of small particles of silanized silicic acid (Silanox) in SE-30 liquid phase were employed. Seventeen urinary polyols and aldoses were quantified through use of an internal reference compound and detector response factors. The components were analyzed as polyacetyl esters (from the polyols) and poly-O-acetylaldonic nitriles (from the aldoses).     

Identification of ketoses by use of their peracetylated oxime derivatives: A G.L.C.-M.S. approach

A method based on peracetylated oxime (PAKO) derivatives has been developed for rapid g.l.c.-m.s. survey of ketoses. This derivatization procedure (and the chromatographic analysis of these derivatives) is identical to one previously employed to identify aldoses by means of peracetylated aldononitrile (PAAN) derivatives. The production of chemically different derivatives from the aldoses and ketoses by the same derivatization procedure greatly simplifies the chromatographic separation of the derivatives of the ketoses from those of the aldoses, and also results in distinctively different, mass-spectral fragmentation-pathways for the two sets of derivatives. Both the electron-impact (e.i.) and ammonia chemical-ionization (c.i.) mass spectra of PAKO derivatives have been examined. Extensive differences between the fragmentation-pathways of the PAAN and the PAKO derivatives have been observed both by e.i.m.s. and ammonia c.i.m.s. The g.l.c.-m.s. of these PAKO derivatives, in conjunction with various, isotopic variants of the derivatization process, can yield extensive structural information with regard to the starting saccharides associated with the known, or unknown, g.l.c. peaks. The g.l.c. and mass-spectral properties of highly O-methylated PAKO derivatives of d-fructose are compared, and contrasted, to those of the PAKO derivatives of non-O-methylated saccharides. The chromatographic properties of derivatives of oligosaccharides that result from the PAAN-PAKO derivatization procedure have also been studied.     

In silico studies on the substrate specificity of an l-arabinose isomerase from Bacillus licheniformis

l-Arabinose isomerase (BLAI) from Bacillus licheniformis was found to be active only with l-arabinose, unlike other l-arabinose isomerases (l-AIs) active with a variety of aldoses. Therefore, the differences in molecular interactions and substrate orientation in the active site of l-AIs have been examined and the residue at position 346 is proposed to be responsible for the unique substrate specificity of BLAI.     

Sensitive ultraviolet monitoring of aldoses in automated borate complex anion-exchange chromatography with 2-cyanoacetamide

A convenient method for postcolumn carbohydrate labeling has been developed. Eluates of borate complex anion-exchange columns are mixed with a reagent solution prepared from an aqueous solution of 2-cyanoacetamide and a borate buffer (pH 10.5), and the mixture is heated in a 10-m reaction coil at 100°C. Measurement of the absorbance of the product at 276 nm permits high reproducibility determination of 5 to 500 nmol of aldoses. Some carbonyl compounds are positive to this reaction, but most do not interfere with the analysis because their peaks do not appear in the aldose region. Ascorbate gives a small peak between those of mannose and fucose, but interference is negligible for equimolar amounts of ascorbate and these aldoses. This method is applied to and gives satisfactory results in the analysis of monosaccharides from various types of glycoconjugates.     

Carbon-13-enriched carbohydrates: preparation of triose, tetrose, and pentose phosphates.

Three-, four-, and five-carbon aldononitrile phosphates were prepared, purified, and catalyticlly reduced with palladium--barium sulfate (5%) to the corresponding aldose phosphates in high yields at pH 1.7 +/- 0.1 and atmopsheric pressure. DL-Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and the tetrose 4-phosphates were prepared with carbon-13 enrichment at C-1, while the pentose 5-phosphates were prepared with enrichment at C-1 and C-2. Preparations of glycolaldehyde phosphate and d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate by lead tetra-acetate oxidation of glycerol phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate, respectively, are described. The proportions of cyclic hemiacetals and linear gem-diol forms of the two- to five-carbon aldose phosphates in aqueous solution are reported. Carbon-13 chemical shifts and carbon--phosphorus and carbon--hydrogen coupling constants for the furanose phosphate ring and linear gem-diol phosphates are reported and discussed. d-[2(-13)C]Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate and L-[3,4(-13)C]sorbose 1,6-bisphosphate were prepared enzymatically from D-[2(-13)C]ribose 5-phosphate and dl-[1(-13)C]glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, respectively.     

The mass spectra of some per-O-acetylaldononitriles

The mass spectra of some per-O-acetylaldono- and per-O-acetyldeoxyaldononitriles have been recorded. The major fragmentation-pathways are discussed in terms of the application of electron-impact mass-spectrometry to structural studies of aldoses. Both acetyl and deuterium-labelled acetyl derivatives are included. The spectra are useful in verifying the position of the deoxy group(s) of deoxyaldoses.     

Purification,characterization and structure analysis of NADPH-dependent d-xylose reductases from Candida tropicalis

NADPH-dependent d-xylose reductases (XRs) from Candida tropicalis IFO 0618 were purified and characterized. Mono Q HPLC revealed three XR isomers. The K_m values of XR1, XR2 and XR3 for d-xylose were 37, 30 and 34 mM, and for NADPH 14, 18 and 9 μM, respectively. NADH did not act as a cofactor. The specificities of the three XRs for several aldoses were essentially the same. Gel filtration and cross-linking analysis showed that both XR1 and XR2 were dimers composed of identical subunits. The pI values of XR1 and XR2 were estimated to be 4.15 and 4.10, respectively. Comparison of the peptide maps of XR1 and XR2 showed that the molecular weights of 8 fragments of lysylendopeptidase-digested XR1 and XR2 were essentially the same as each other. The amino acid composition of each XR was also very similar. The molecular weights of XR1 and XR2 by mass spectra analysis were 36,497.91 and 36,539.68, respectively. The amino acid sequences of two XR1 peptide fragments (Nos. 4 and 5) were highly homologous with those of Pichia stipitis XR and mammalian aldose reductases.     

Spirocyclopropyl pyrrolidines as a new series of alpha-L-fucosidase inhibitors

Polyhydroxy 4-azaspiro[2.4]heptane derivatives (spirocyclopropyl iminosugars) were prepared in four to six steps from readily available protected aldoses. The key step of the reaction sequence involves a titanium-mediated aminocyclopropanation of glycononitriles with subsequent cyclization. Five new polyhydroxypyrrolidines so-obtained have been evaluated for their ability to inhibit 16 glycosidases. One of them exhibits selective inhibition of alpha-L-fucosidase from bovine kidney (Ki=1.6 microM, competitive).     

G.L.C.-M.S. of N-(1-deoxyalditol-1-yl)octadecylamine derivatives in the analysis of methanolysates of neoglycolipids obtained by reductive amination

Hydrophobic conjugates of a series of aldoses have been prepared by reductive amination with octadecylamine and sodium cyanoborohydride, as model compounds for the analysis of reductively aminated oligosaccharides derived from capsular polysaccharides of Streptococcus pneumoniae. In the context of the methanolysis procedure for sugar analysis, g.l.c. and g.l.c.-m.s. (e.i.-mode) studies were carried out on the N-(1-deoxyalditol-1-yl)octadecylamine derivatives obtained after treatment with methanolic HCl, and subsequent N-acetylation and trimethylsilylation.     

Aldose-ketose interconversion in pyridine in the presence of aluminium oxide

The reaction rate of the Lobry de Bruyn-Alberda van Ekenstein transformation of aldoses to ketoses in boiling pyridine was strongly increased by the addition of aluminium oxide. In addition to aldose-ketose transformation, 2-epimers of the starting aldoses and 3-epimers of the primarily produced ketoses were formed to some extent, as reported also when these reactions are carried out without aluminium oxide. The relative amounts of the primary ketose and the starting aldose in the reaction mixtures may be explained on the basis of their stability, predicted from reported free energy calculations. Isomerisation of ketoses to aldoses was much slower than the reverse reaction. The relative free energies are also in these cases important, the very stable xylo-2-hexulose gave only 7% and 6% of the aldoses gulose and idose, respectively, after boiling for 7h in pyridine in the presence of aluminium oxide.     

Restriction endonuclease analysis of DNA from the Streptomyces phages SH3, SH5, SH10 and SH13

Using 26 restriction endonucleases, a cleavage site survey was undertaken for DNAs of several unrelated Streptomyces phages SH3, SH5, SH10 and SH13. Only EcoRI was found to produce single cleavage in SH3 and SH10 DNA. The complete maps were prepared for the 2, 9 and 11 fragments of SH10 DNA, as generated by EcoRI, KpnI and BglII, respectively. The evidence is presented that SH10 DNA contains cohesive ends. Moreover, a clearplaque mutant of SH10 was shown to contain a deletion of 790 bp in the right part of the genome, including two KpnI sites.     

NMR studies of molybdate complexes of -allose, -altrose, -gulose, and -idose

Aqueous molybdate complexes of -allose, -altrose, -gulose, and -idose were studied by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Different amounts of binuclear tetradentate molybdate complexes. involving the hydrated aldehyde group and the three adjacent hydroxyl groups of the hydrate, i.e., HO-2,3,4, were detected for all the aldoses investigated. In addition, -altrose and -idose hydrates preferentially adopt another binuclear tetradentate complex with donor hydroxyl groups HO-2,3,4,5. Both types of binuclear tetradentate molybdate complexes are present in two forms due to a different linkage mode of the asymmetric binuclear molybdate core to the aldose hydrate molecule. Cyclic forms of -allose and -gulose predominate in their complexes.     

A gas chromatographic method for the determination of aldose and uronic Acid constituents of plant cell wall polysaccharides

A major problem in determining the composition of plant cell wall polysaccharides has been the lack of a suitable method for accurately determining the amounts of galacturonic and glucuronic acids in such polymers. A gas chromatographic method for aldose analysis has been extended to include uronic acids. Cell wall polysaccharides are depolymerized by acid hydrolysis followed by treatment with a mixture of fungal polysaccharide-degrading enzymes. The aldoses and uronic acids released by this treatment are then reduced with NaBH₄ to alditols and aldonic acids, respectively. The aldonic acids are separated from the alditols with Dowex-1 (acetate form) ion exchange resin, which binds the aldonic acids. The alditols, which do not bind, are washed from the resin and then acetylated with acetic anhydride to form the alditol acetate derivatives. The aldonic acids are eluted from the resin with HCl. After the resin has been removed, the HCl solution of the aldonic acids is evaporated to dryness, converting the aldonic acids to aldonolactones. The aldonolactones are reduced with NaBH₄ to the corresponding alditols, dried and acetylated. The resulting alditol acetate mixtures produced from the aldoses and those from the uronic acids are analyzed separately by gas chromatography. This technique has been used to determine the changes in composition of Red Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) hypocotyl cell walls during growth, and to compare the cell wall polysaccharide compositions of several parts of bean plants. Galacturonic acid is found to be a major component of all the cell wall polysaccharides examined.     

Tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in Anacystis nidulans; incorporation of [1-13C]-, [2-13C]-, [1,2-13C]- and [2-13C, 2-2H3]acetate

Labelling experiments with [2-¹³C]- and [1,2-¹³C]acetate showed that both photopigments of Anacystis nidulans, chlorophyll a and phycocyanobilin, share a common biosynthetic pathway from glutamate. The fate of deuterium during these biosynthetic events was studied using [2-¹³C, 2-²H₃]acetate as a precursor and determining the labelling pattern by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy with simultaneous [¹H, ²H]-broadband decoupling. The loss of ²H (ca 20%) from the precursor occurred at an early stage during the tricarboxylic acid cycle. After formation of glutamate there was no further loss of ²H in the assembly of the cyclic tetrapyrrole intermediates or during decarboxylation and modification of the side-chains. Thus the labelling data support a divergence in the pathway to cyclic and linear tetrapyrroles after protoporphyrin IX.     

Kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of some aldoses by vanadium(v) in perchloric acid medium

The kinetics of oxidation of some aldoses by vanadium(V) in perchloric acid media have been investigated. Each reaction is first order with respect to both [Vanadium(V)] and [Aldose]. The reactions are catalysed by acid. The addition of sodium perchlorate accelerates the rate of reaction. Kinetic evidence for the formation of an intermediate compound between vanadium(V) and aldoses is insignificant, and a mechanism is suggested in which vanadium(V) reacts with the aldoses by a fast step to form a transition state, followed by the decomposition of the latter to give the products of reaction in a slow step. The formation of free-radical intermediates has been demonstrated, and one-electron reduction of vanadium(V) by aldoses seems to be the most plausible mechanism. The oxidation rates follow the order: xyloses arabinose galactose mannose. The activation parameters are reported.