Ion Chromatography coupled Mass Spectrometry (IC-MS) for Advanced Structural Characterisation of Carbohydrates

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Carbohydrates (or sugars) play myriad roles in nature from energy storage and transport to structural components of cells and tissues to key cell signalling and recognition receptors. Despite the importance of complex carbohydrates (also known as glycans) in all areas of biology, the study of glycans has lagged behind that of the other major biomolecules, especially protein and nucleic acids, due to the vast diversity of structures that exist in nature. This diversity has limited analytical techniques for glycan characterisation. Ion exchange chromatography (IC) with electrochemical detection is one of the core techniques used to separate, identify and quantify complex carbohydrate structures as it provides excellent separation and sensitivity and can be used to detect carbohydrates without having to modify them in any way. However this methodology has been restricted in the past due to its reliance on defined sugar standards for identification. This limitation could be circumvented by linking the IC to a mass spectrometer (MS) for advanced sugar identification and characterisation, but until recently this technology was not possible. Recent exciting advances by the bioscience company ThermoFisher Ltd have enabled the direct linking of the IC to the MS to create a rapid and robust pipeline for advanced carbohydrate analysis. The IC-MS would enable quantification and characterisation of a wide range of complex carbohydrates from human, animal, plant and microbial sources and thus has great potential to transform our ability to analyse and understand the vast diversity of glycan structures that exist and decipher their roles in biology.