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Glycobiology, 2001, Vol. 11, No. 8 663-676
© 2001 Oxford University Press

Diversity of sialic acids revealed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of heptafluorobutyrate derivatives

Jean-Pierre Zanetta1,2, Alexandre Pons2, Matthias Iwersen3, Christophe Mariller2, Yves Leroy2, Philippe Timmerman2 and Roland Schauer3

2Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, CNRS UMR 8576, 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq Cedex France, and 3Biochemisches Institut, Universität Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, D-24098 Kiel, Germany

The fine structural motifs of sialic acids, a frequent terminal monosaccharide of glycans, seem to contain essential biological properties. To identify such subtle structural differences, a reliable method was developed for the qualitative and quantitative identification of sialic acids present in different tissues and fluids. This method involved, after liberation of sialic acids by mild acid hydrolysis, their methyl esterification using diazomethane in the presence of methanol and the formation of volatile derivatives using heptafluorobutyric anhydride. The derivatives were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in the electron impact mode. This technique allowed the separation and identification of a large variety of sialic acids, including different O-acylated forms of N-acetyl and N-glycolyl neuraminic acids and of 3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-nonulosonic acid (Kdn). This method allowed also identifying 8-O-methylated and 8-O-sulfated derivatives, de-N-acetylated neuraminic acid, and 1,7-sialic acid lactones. Compounds present in very complex mixtures could be identified through their fragmentation patterns. Because of the stability of the heptafluorobutyrate derivatives, this method presents important improvements compared to the previous techniques, because it can be frequently applied on very small amounts of crude samples. This methodology will support progress in the field of the biology of sialic acids.

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed


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