High sensitivity analysis of nanogram quantities of glycosaminoglycans using ToF-SIMS

Hook, Andrew L.; Hogwood, John; Gray, Elaine; Mulloy, Barbara; Merry, Catherine L.R.

Abstract

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are important biopolymers that differ in the sequence of saccharide units and in post polymerization alterations at various positions, making these complex molecules challenging to analyse. Here we describe an approach that enables small quantities (< 200 ng) of over 400 different GAGs to be analysed within a short time frame (3-4 hours). Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) together with multivariate analysis is used to analyse the entire set of GAG samples. Resultant spectra are derived from the whole molecules and do not require pre-digestion. All 6 possible GAG types are successfully discriminated, both alone and in the presence of fibronectin. We also distinguish between pharmaceutical grade heparin, derived from different animal species and from different suppliers, to a sensitivity as low as 0.001 wt%. This approach is likely to be highly beneficial in the quality control of GAGs produced for therapeutic applications and for characterising GAGs within biomaterials or from in vitro cell culture.

Citation

Hook, A. L., Hogwood, J., Gray, E., Mulloy, B., & Merry, C. L. (2021). High sensitivity analysis of nanogram quantities of glycosaminoglycans using ToF-SIMS. Communications Chemistry, 4, Article 67. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-021-00506-1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 7, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 14, 2021
• Publication Date: May 14, 2021
• Deposit Date: Apr 20, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 18, 2021
• Journal: Communications Chemistry
• Print ISSN: 2399-3669
• Electronic ISSN: 2399-3669
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Article Number: 67
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-021-00506-1
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5484616
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42004-021-00506-1