H/D Exchange

Hydrogen/Deuterium exchange (HDX) combined with mass spectrometry (MS) detection has matured in recent years to become a powerful tool in structural biology and biophysics. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the gas-phase structure and conformations of peptides and proteins, because gas-phase peptide and protein ions typically contain no water molecules, thereby providing for more direct comparison to theoretically derived structures.

To date, apart from FT-ICR based technology, there are no commercial MS instruments that allow HDX in the gas phase. MS Vision were therefore set the task of modifying a standard Q-Tof instrument to test the feasibility of producing an instrument capable of online, controlled exchange. Preliminary results demonstrate the successful complete controlled Deuteration of Arginine, the most difficult amino acid for HDX. This Q-Tof conversion is now offered commercially by MS Vision to the scientific community.