Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) has become a popular tool for monitoring ligandprotein and proteinprotein interactions. Due to the "gentle" nature of the ionization process, it is often possible to transfer weakly bound complexes into the gas phase, thus making them amenable to MS detection. One problem with this technique is the potential occurrence of fragmentation events during ESI. Also, some analytes tend to cluster together during ionization, thus forming nonspecific gas-phase assemblies that do not represent solution-phase complexes. In this work, we implemented a hydrogendeuterium exchange (HDX) approach that can reveal whether or not the free and (or) bound constituents of a complex observed in ESI-MS reflect the binding situation in solution. Proteins are subjected to ESI immediately following an isotopic labeling pulse; only ligand-free and ligand-bound protein ions that were formed directly from the corresponding solution-phase species showed different HDX levels. Using myoglobin as a model system, it is demonstrated that this approach can readily distinguish scenarios where the hemeprotein interactions were disrupted in solution from those where dissociation of the complex occurred in the gas phase. Experiments on cytochrome c strongly suggest that dimeric protein ions observed in ESI-MS reflect aggregates that were formed in solution.Key words: electrospray mass spectrometry, ligandprotein interaction, noncovalent complex, hydrogendeuterium exchange, protein folding.
On the Regioselectivity of the Gould–Jacobs Reaction: Gas‐Phase Versus Solution‐Phase Thermolysis
