BSA Fragmentation Specifically Induced by Added Electrolytes: an Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Investigation

Biointerfaces are significantly affected by electrolytes according to the Hofmeister series. This work reports a systematic investigation on the effect of different metal chlorides, sodium and potassium bromides, iodides and thiocyanates, on the ESI/MS spectra of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous solution at pH = 2.7. The concentration of each salt was varied to maximize the quality of the ESI/MS spectrum, in terms of peak intensity and bell-shaped profile. The ESI/MS spectra of BSA in the absence and in the presence of salts showed a main protein pattern characterized by the expected mass of 66.5 kDa, except the case of BSA/RbCl (mass 65,3 kDa). In all systems we observed an additional pattern, characterized by at least three peaks with low intensity, whose deconvolution led to suggest the formation of a BSA fragment with a mass of 19.2 kDa. Only NaCl increased the intensity of the peaks of the main BSA pattern, while minimizing that of the fragment. NaCl addition seems to play a crucial role in stabilizing BSA ionized interface against hydrolysis of peptide bonds, through different synergistic mechanisms. To quantify the observed specific electrolyte effects, two “Hofmeister” parameters (Hs and Ps) are proposed. They are obtained using the ratio of (BSA-Salt)/BSA peak intensities for both the BSA main pattern and for its fragment

Specific electrolyte effects on hemoglobin in denaturing medium investigated through electron spray ionization mass spectrometry

We examine Hofmeister specific ion effects of electrolytes added to protein solution under conditions minimizing electrostatic attraction between cations and positively charged protein. Hemoglobin (Hb) in aqueous solution at the denaturing pH = 2.7 is investigated in the presence of several metal chlorides, along with sodium and potassium bromides, iodides and thiocyanates, using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Salt concentration was varied to maximize peak intensity and bell-shaped profile in the ESI-MS spectrum. The α-chain of myoglobin is identified as the main pattern of the ESI-MS spectra in all Hb-salt systems. Both peak intensity and quality of the bell-shaped profile of the protein spectrum decrease in the cation order: K+ > > Mg2+ > Li+ > > Na+ > Ca2+ ≈ Cs+ > Rb+ for Hb-Metal Chloride systems, and decrease in the anion order: Cl− > Br− > I− > SCN− for systems of both Hb-NaX and Hb-KX salts. To quantify salt addition effects two Hofmeister specific electrolyte parameters HS, and PS are proposed. HS is the mean (Hb-salt)/Hb peak intensity ratio, measured for the nine peaks used for ESI-MS spectra deconvolution, taken at the same m/z values of the Hb profile. PS is the ratio between HS standard deviation and HS, and provides a specific perturbation parameter measuring the loss of protein structure. These two Hofmeister parameters give clear evidence of the effects induced either by KCl, MgCl2 and LiCl that enhance protein peak intensity, or by NaBr, NaI, NaSCN and KSCN that induce the protein fragmentation, due to electrolyte-mediated dissociation