1,1,3,3-Tetramethylurea and triethanolamine as a new useful matrix for fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry of gangliosides and neutral glycosphingolipids.

Analysis of gangliosides from bovine brain was successfully performed by a newly developed method of fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). The use of triethanolamine with a few drops of 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea as the matrix solution gave intense molecular ions of intact gangliosides tested, namely, GM1 and GD1a, corresponding to (M + Na)+ and (M + 2Na-H)+. Glycerol, that is usually used as a matrix solution for FAB-mass spectrometry, was not suitable for the analysis of gangliosides. Along with the molecular ion species, the ions pertaining to the carbohydrate sequence also appeared on the spectrum. The method was found to be useful for structural analysis using intact molecules of gangliosides and neutral glycosphingolipids.