| 1. |
- Haag, Nicole, et al.
(author)
-
Electron capture induced dissociation of doubly protonated pentapeptides : Dependence on molecular structure and charge separation
- 2011
-
In: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 134:3, s. 035102-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have studied electron capture induced dissociation of a set of doubly protonated pentapeptides, all composed of one lysine (K) and either four glycine (G) or four alanine (A) residues, as a function of the sequence of these building blocks. Thereby the separation of the two charges, sequestered on the N-terminal amino group and the lysine side chain, is varied. The characteristic cleavage of N–Cα bonds is observed for all peptides over the whole backbone length, with the charge carrying fragments always containing K. The resulting fragmentation patterns are very similar if G is replaced by A. In the case of [XKXXX+2H]2+ (X=A or G), a distinct feature is observed in the distribution of backbone cleavage fragments and the probability for ammonia loss is drastically reduced. This may be due to an isomer with an amide oxygen as protonation site giving rise to the observed increase in breakage at a specific site in the molecule. For the other peptides, a correlation with the distance between amide oxygen and the charge at the lysine side chain has been found. This may be an indication that it is only the contribution from this site to the charge stabilization of the amide π* orbitals which determines relative fragment intensities. For comparison, complexes with two crown ether molecules have been studied as well. The crown ether provides a shielding of the charge and prevents the peptide from folding and internal hydrogen bonding, which leads to a more uniform fragmentation behavior.
|
|
| 2. |
- Haag, Nicole, 1981-
(author)
-
Probing biomolecular fragmentation
- 2011
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis deals with fragmentation of complex molecular ions, especially biomolecules, in gas phase collision experiments. The aim is to investigate the relations between energy deposition and fragmentation and to shed light on the mechanisms behind energy and charge transfer processes in collisions involving the building blocks of life. Further, the question how a solvent environment influences the dissociation behavior is elucidated. In the first part of the thesis, results from different collision experiments with biomolecular ions are presented, focusing on electron capture induced dissociation of hydrated nucleotides and small peptides. The investigated processes may be relevant for the understanding of radiation damage and the optimization of sequencing methods used in protein research. Our results clearly demonstrate that effects due to surrounding solvent molecules are substantial. While the dissipation of internal energy by evaporation of the loosely bound solvent molecules may protect the biomolecule, the influence which this environment has on the electronic structure may lead to an enhancement or suppression of certain dissociation channels. The second part of the thesis focuses on recent instrumental developments. Here, the aim was to optimize and complement the techniques used in the experiments above and to have versatile tools available for different kinds of gas phase collision studies involving complex molecular ions. Therefore, we have constructed an electrospray ion source platform for the preparation of intense beams, with options of accumulation and cooling of mass selected ions, allowing for a large variety of experiments. This device is also intended to serve as an ion source for the new storage ring facility DESIREE (DoubleElectroStatic Ion Ring ExpEriment), which is currently under construction at Stockholm University. In these unique storage rings, oppositely charged ions may interact at very low relative velocities in a cryogenically cooled and ultrahigh vacuum environment.
|
|
| 3. |
- Johansson, Henrik A. B., et al.
(author)
-
Unimolecular dissociation of anthracene and acridine cations : The importance of isomerization barriers for the C2H2 loss and HCN loss channels
- 2011
-
In: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 135, s. 084304-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The loss of C2H2 is a low activation energy dissociation channel for anthracene (C14H10) and acridine (C13H9N) cations. For the latter ion another prominent fragmentation pathway is the loss of HCN. We have studied these two dissociation channels by collision induced dissociation experiments of 50 keV anthracene cations and protonated acridine, both produced by electrospray ionization, in collisions with a neutral xenon target. In addition, we have carried out density functional theory calculations on possible reaction pathways for the loss of C2H2 and HCN. The mass spectra display features of multi-step processes, and for protonated acridine the dominant first step process is the loss of a hydrogen from the N site, which then leads to C2H2/HCN loss from the acridine cation. With our calculations we have identified three pathways for the loss of C2H2 from the anthracene cation, with three different cationic products: 2-ethynylnaphthalene, biphenylene, and acenaphthylene. The third product is the one with the overall lowest dissociation energy barrier. For the acridine cation our calculated pathway for the loss of C2H2 leads to the 3-ethynylquinoline cation, and the loss of HCN leads to the biphenylene cation. Isomerization plays an important role in the formation of the non-ethynyl containing products. All calculated fragmentation pathways should be accessible in the present experiment due to substantial energy deposition in the collisions.
|
|
| 4. |
- Thomas, Richard D., et al.
(author)
-
The double electrostatic ion ring experiment : A unique cryogenic electrostatic storage ring for merged ion-beams studies
- 2011
-
In: Review of Scientific Instruments. - : AIP Publishing. - 0034-6748 .- 1089-7623. ; 82:6, s. 065112-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We describe the design of a novel type of storage device currently under construction at Stockholm University, Sweden, using purely electrostatic focussing and deflection elements, in which ion beams of opposite charges are confined under extreme high vacuum cryogenic conditions in separate rings and merged over a common straight section. The construction of this double electrostatic ion ring experiment uniquely allows for studies of interactions between cations and anions at low and well-defined internal temperatures and centre-of-mass collision energies down to about 10 K and 10 meV, respectively. Position sensitive multi-hit detector systems have been extensively tested and proven to work in cryogenic environments and these will be used to measure correlations between reaction products in, for example, electron-transfer processes. The technical advantages of using purely electrostatic ion storage devices over magnetic ones are many, but the most relevant are: electrostatic elements which are more compact and easier to construct; remanent fields, hysteresis, and eddy-currents, which are of concern in magnetic devices, are no longer relevant; and electrical fields required to control the orbit of the ions are not only much easier to create and control than the corresponding magnetic fields, they also set no upper mass limit on the ions that can be stored. These technical differences are a boon to new areas of fundamental experimental research, not only in atomic and molecular physics but also in the boundaries of these fields with chemistry and biology. For examples, studies of interactions with internally cold molecular ions will be particular useful for applications in astrophysics, while studies of solvated ionic clusters will be of relevance to aeronomy and biology.
|
|
