Toward Depth-Resolved Analysis of Plant Metabolites by Nanospray Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Cha, Sangwon Jun, Gyouwoong Park, Yougyeong An, Sung Jun Lee, Donghoon
Editor	Verotta, Luisella
Copyright Year	2022
Abstract	Nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (nano-DESI) is one of the ambient desorption ionization methods for mass spectrometry (MS), and it utilizes a steady-state liquid junction formed between two microcapillaries to directly extract analytes from sample surfaces with minimal sample damage. In this study, we employed nano-DESI MS to perform a metabolite fingerprinting analysis directly from a Hypericum leaf surface. Moreover, we investigated whether changes in metabolite fingerprints with time can be related to metabolite distribution according to depth. From a raw Hypericum leaf, the mass spectral fingerprints of key metabolites, including flavonoids and prenylated phloroglucinols, were successfully obtained using ethanol as a nano-DESI solvent, and the changes in their intensities were observed with time via full mass scan experiments. In addition, the differential extraction patterns of the obtained mass spectral fingerprints were clearly visualized over time through selected ion monitoring and pseudo-selected reaction monitoring experiments. To examine the correlation between the time-dependent changes in the metabolite fingerprints and depth-wise metabolite distribution, we performed a nano-DESI MS analysis against leaves whose surface layers were removed multiple times by forming polymeric gum Arabic films on their surfaces, followed by detaching. The preliminary results showed that the changes in the metabolite fingerprints according to the number of peelings showed a similar pattern with those obtained from the raw leaves over time.
Journal	Molecules
Volume Number	27
DOI	10.3390/molecules27217582
PubMed Central reference number	PMC9658880
Issue Number	21
PubMed reference number	36364409
e-ISSN	14203049
Language	English
Publisher	Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)
Publisher Date	2022-11-04
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	ambient desorption ionization nanospray desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry plant metabolite
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Medicine Chemistry Drug Discovery Pharmaceutical Science Analytical Chemistry Molecular Medicine Organic Chemistry