ANALYSIS OF DOLICHOLS AND POLYPRENOLS AND THEIR DERIVATIVES BY ELECTRON-IMPACT, FAST-ATOM-BOMBARDMENT AND ELECTROSPRAY-IONIZATION TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Dolichols and polyprenols are polyisoprenoid lipids found in all cells , Polyisoprenoids have recently been found covalently bound to cellula r proteins constituting a new type of post-translational modification, To study these compounds effectively in biological systems a sensitiv e mass spectrometric procedure giving molecular weight and structural information is required, In the present study an assessment has been m ade of possible mass spectrometric procedures, Dolichols and polypreno ls have been analysed at the pmol level in their underivatized form an d as tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethers by electron ionization mass spectr ometry, Sulphated dolichols and polyprenols have been analysed at a pm ol level by fast-atom bombardment and at the sub-pmol level by electro spray mass spectrometry, Dolichol phosphates have also been analysed b y electrospray mass spectrometry, Collision-induced dissociation spect ra of the underivatized and derivatized polyisoprenoids have been reco rded, These spectra provide structural information from only pmols of sample.