BOOK OF ABSTRACTS: ELEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CZECH SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2023

Importance of the Topic

Mass spectrometry is a cornerstone of modern analytical chemistry, enabling ultrasensitive detection, structural elucidation and accurate quantification of biomolecules. It underpins research in proteomics, metabolomics, glycoproteomics, lipidomics, structural biology and clinical diagnostics, driving advances in disease biomarker discovery, drug development, environmental monitoring and quality control.

Objectives and Overview of the Conference

Participants at the Eleventh Annual Conference of the Czech Society for Mass Spectrometry presented innovations aimed at:

• Bridging organic and inorganic MS workflows via ICP-MS enhancements.
• Advancing proteomic depth and precision with tribrid Orbitrap instruments and trapped ion mobility.
• Expanding structural proteomics through novel cross-linking, photodissociation and radical footprinting methods.
• Employing ion mobility and cyclic IMS to resolve isomeric small molecules and protein conformers.
• Optimizing LC-MS and CE-MS protocols for quantitation of growth factors, therapeutic proteins, lipids and nucleic acids.
• Implementing MALDI-MS imaging and LA-ICP-MS for spatial proteomic and nanoparticle mapping in tissues.

Methodology and Instrumentation

The conference highlighted a broad range of platforms and techniques:

• ICP-MS and ICP-MS/MS for trace element and metalloprotein analysis down to pg/mL levels.
• Orbitrap Ascend and Fusion Tribrid systems with real-time search for ratio-compression-free TMT quantitation.
• SCIEX ZenoTOF 7600 with Electron Activated Dissociation (EAD) for high-sensitivity small molecule and middle-down protein characterization.
• Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry (TIMS) and cyclic IMS for enhanced resolving power in proteomics and drug isomer separation.
• Hydrophilic interaction (HILIC) and reverse phase UPLC coupled to Q-TOF and QQQ instruments for nucleotide, peptide and lipid profiling.
• Capillary electrophoresis-MS for rapid, high-resolution analysis of growth factors and monoclonal antibodies.
• Fast Photochemical Oxidation (FPOP), Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange (HDX-MS) and IR/UV photodissociation on FT-ICR platforms for protein footprinting and conformational dynamics.
• Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization ToF and laser ablation ICP-MS imaging, including nanoparticle tagging strategies, for spatial mapping of proteins in spheroid and tissue sections.

Main Results and Discussion

Key findings presented at the conference included:

• Enhanced multi-element quantitation and speciation in environmental and clinical samples using ICP-MS with collision/reaction cells and solid/gas sampling approaches.
• Elimination of TMT ratio compression through real-time MS3 searches on Orbitrap Ascend, achieving >5 000 protein IDs at sub-nanogram loads.
• Cyclic IMS combined with composite spectrum regression to resolve overlapped isomer signals in illicit drug analysis without extensive chromatography.
• Identification of predictive glycoproteomic biomarkers for paclitaxel-induced neuropathy in breast cancer through targeted glycopeptide profiling.
• Structural insights into transmembrane antiporter conformational changes via HDX-MS and fast fluoroalkylation (FFAP) labeling.
• Novel cross-linker chemistries targeting aromatic residues to map protein interfaces inaccessible to traditional lysine-specific reagents.
• HILIC-MS detection of previously unreported RNA caps and DNA modifications in bacterial and mammalian systems.
• On-line CZE-MS workflows for sub-µg/mL quantitation of IGF-1 and other growth factors in pharmaceuticals and complex biofluids.
• Absolute MALDI-MS imaging quantitation of metabolites in infected lung models using isotopically labeled internal standards.
• Laser ablation ICP-MS imaging of gold nanoparticle-labeled antibodies for high-resolution protein localization in 3D spheroids.

Benefits and Practical Applications

These advances deliver tangible benefits:

• Clinical assays with sub-pg/mL sensitivity for early disease detection and therapeutic monitoring.
• Improved structural characterization of protein complexes informing drug design.
• High-throughput QA/QC methods for biopharmaceutical production.
• Spatially resolved MS imaging for pathology and nanoparticle biodistribution studies.
• Comprehensive multi-omic analyses in environmental, microbial and metabolic research.

Future Trends and Opportunities

Emerging directions include:

• Integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning for automated data interpretation and predictive modeling.
• Single-cell proteomics and metabolomics to capture cellular heterogeneity in health and disease.
• New radical labeling and photodissociation chemistries for deeper coverage of protein structures.
• Further coupling of high-resolution ion mobility with ultrafast MS acquisition for real-time isomer and conformer analysis.
• Multimodal imaging platforms combining MS with optical microscopy for correlative clinico-molecular mapping.

Conclusion

The Eleventh Annual Conference showcased a vibrant spectrum of methodological and instrumental innovations that push the limits of mass spectrometry. By enhancing sensitivity, specificity and structural insight, these developments will drive forward applications across proteomics, metabolomics, structural biology and clinical diagnostics, ultimately improving our understanding of biological systems and patient care.

References

Each presentation included detailed bibliographic references to landmark publications on ICP-MS, Orbitrap real-time search, EAD, TIMS, cyclic IMS, HDX-MS, FPOP, FFAP, HILIC-MS, CE-MS and MS imaging. For full citations, please consult the original abstracts.