Development of LC-FAIMS-MS and its application to lipidomics study of Acinetobacter baumannii infection

• Published in: Journal of lipid research Vol. 65; no. 11; p. 100668
• Main Authors: Li, Jianjun, Stupak, Jacek, Haqqani, Arsalan S., Harris, Greg, Zhou, Hongyan, Williamson, Sam, Chen, Rui, Xu, H. Howard, Chen, Wangxue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-11-2024; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acinetobacter baumannii; bacterial infection; FAIMS; lipidomics; mass spectrometry; Methods; NPLC; phospholipid; DDA; LPE; RT; NS; PC(O); PE(O); PRM; MS/MS; MTBE; HRMS; RPLC; mass spectrometry; NPLC; HILIC; PC(P); IS; PE(P); bacterial infection; FAIMS; Acinetobacter baumannii; LC-MS; CV; PC; LPC(O); PE; PI; phospholipid; PL; lipidomics; LPC
• ISSN: 0022-2275; 1539-7262; 1539-7262
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jlr.2024.100668

The recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS) technologies have enabled comprehensive lipid profiling in biological samples. However, the robustness and efficiency of MS-based lipidomics is compromised by the complexity of biological samples. High-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) is a technology that can continuously transmit one type of ion, independent of the mass-to-charge ratio. Here we present the development and application of LC-FAIMS-MS/MS-based platform for untargeted lipidomics. We used 3 optimally balanced compensation voltages, i.e., 29 V, 34 V and 39 V, to analyze all subclasses of glycerophospholipids. The reproducibility of the method was evaluated using reference standards. The reproducibility of retention times ranged from 0.9% to 1.5% RSD; whereas RSD values of 5%–10% were observed for peak areas. More importantly, the coupling of a FAIMS device can significantly improve the robustness and efficiency. We exploited this NPLC-FAIMS-HRMS to analyze the serum lipid profiles in mice infected intranasally with Acinetobacter baumannii. The temporal profiles of serum lipids after A. baumannii inoculation were obtained for 4 h, 8 h, and 24 h. We found that nearly all ether PC and ether PE lipids were significantly decreased 8 h after inoculation. The resultant volcano plot illustrated the distribution of 28 increased and 28 decreased lipid species in mouse sera 24 h after inoculation. We also found that a single ether PE composition can comprise multiple isomeric structures, and the relative abundance of each isomer could be quantified using the newly developed NPLC-FAIMS-PRM method. We have demonstrated that the proposed LC-FAIMS-MS is a valuable platform for lipidomics.
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