Mass Spectrometry and Its Importance for the Analysis and Discovery of Active Molecules in Natural Products

Mass spectrometry is one of the best techniques for analyzing the structure of a molecule. It usually provides information about the molecular weight of a substance, and it can present atomic mass units and up to ten thousandths of atomic mass units depending on the accuracy of the mass analyzer. In addition, it provides information on the positive ions formed in the ionization process, which is linked to the chemical structure of the molecule and the nature of the bonds. This technique is widely used for analyzing compounds from natural products. The development of the technique combined with the use of software and databases has been remarkable in recent years, improving the ionization processes and the ion analysis. Since natural products generally constitute a mixture of a complex quantity of components, mechanisms have been developed for coupling to chromatographic techniques of various kinds. This review aims to show how mass spectrometry has contributed to the qualitative quality control in natural products, as well as in the finding of new metabolites of industrial interest.

Ion-Mobility Mass Spectrometry of Glycans and Glycopeptides Using Both Intact and Glycan Sequencing Approaches In Positive Ion Mode Facilitates Glycan Isomer and Glycan Motif Identification

High resolution glycan analysis has become an important part of biopharmaceutical API production and quality control. Liquid chromatography (LC) is now a well-established technique in this field but the resolution of similar isomeric glycan structures is still a challenge. Here we show that the addition of ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) in a hyphenated LC-IMS-MS setting allows for the high resolution of N-glycan isomers during positive ion analysis. We have identified unique features in the IM chromatograms to help differentiate a range of isomeric N-glycans for both RFMS labelled glycans and glycopeptides.<br>

Ion-Mobility Mass Spectrometry of Glycans and Glycopeptides Using Both Intact and Glycan Sequencing Approaches In Positive Ion Mode Facilitates Glycan Isomer and Glycan Motif Identification

High resolution glycan analysis has become an important part of biopharmaceutical API production and quality control. Liquid chromatography (LC) is now a well-established technique in this field but the resolution of similar isomeric glycan structures is still a challenge. Here we show that the addition of ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) in a hyphenated LC-IMS-MS setting allows for the high resolution of N-glycan isomers during positive ion analysis. We have identified unique features in the IM chromatograms to help differentiate a range of isomeric N-glycans for both RFMS labelled glycans and glycopeptides.<br>

Abstract P103: Tobacco-21 Policy Implementation In A Texas Community: Utilizing Interorganizational Network Analysis To Evaluate Tobacco Coalition Dynamics

Introduction: In El Paso County, TX, a local tobacco coalition is working in partnership with the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program to focus efforts on aligning local activities with the new, statewide Tobacco-21 policy. As coalitions have been on the forefront of spearheading policy implementation efforts, understanding and quantifying coalition dynamics is necessary to increase collaboration and leverage resources. The purpose of this study is to highlight the findings of a baseline Interorganizational Network (ION) analysis of a tobacco coalition in El Paso County, TX in order to determine current levels of collaboration between organizations and strength of relationships. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis that by using ION analysis, we can characterize relationships between organizations, identify organizations that are working in silos, and leverage ties between organizations to implement new, tobacco control initiatives that support the Tobacco-21 policy. Methods: Evaluators from Texas A&M University worked in conjunction with the AHA to conduct an ION survey that assessed information sharing and joint planning of organizations involved in the tobacco coalition (n=18). Using UCINET© network analysis software, density and centrality scores at the network-level were calculated. Network diagrams were then developed to depict relationships among partners using Gephi© visualization software. Results: Network collaboration related to information sharing had a network density score of 0.340 (SD=0.474) while joint planning had a network density score of 0.297 (SD=0.457). The centralization index for information sharing was 0.055 and 0.0729 for joint planning with the coalition as the most central for both domains. Conclusion: This study shows how determination of organizational relationships within a coalition can be leveraged for strategic planning. Density measures were useful to understand the connectedness of the network, and centrality measures at the network-level were helpful in determining network structure. In conclusion, results from this study informed program implementers on how to better foster collaboration among organizations. Subsequent iterations of the survey will allow for documentation of changes in the strength of relationships over the project period.