Spatially resolving isomeric trisaccharides on surfaces with Orbitrap-SIMS
Abstract
Many biologically important molecules are structural isomers that share the same molecular mass yet differ in shape, bonding and function. This creates an ambiguity for mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), where chemically distinct species can be indistinguishable on the mass-to-charge ( m/z) scale and therefore cannot be reliably mapped in heterogeneous materials. Here we demonstrate that Orbitrap secondary ion mass spectrometry (OrbiSIMS) can provide an orthogonal contrast that enables both identification and spatial separation of isomeric molecules directly on surfaces. By exploiting structure-dependent secondary-ion dissociation and gas-phase collisional effects during ion transmission, we discriminate isomeric trisaccharides raffinose, maltotriose and melezitose and spatially resolve raffinose and maltotriose in mixtures. We benchmark these measurements against ion mobility spectrometry and observe consistent trends between OrbiSIMS transmission behaviour and ion mobility separation. These results establish OrbiSIMS as an approach for isomer-resolved MSI at surfaces and interfaces, opening opportunities to map isomeric biomolecules in complex systems where spatial distribution is central to function.
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BibTeX
@article{moloney2026spatially,
title = {{Spatially resolving isomeric trisaccharides on surfaces with Orbitrap-SIMS}},
author = {Margaret Moloney and Richard Paterson and Bin Yan and Anya Eyres and Clare L. Newell and Jean-Luc Vorng and Alexander Pirkl and John F. Watts and Ian S. Gilmore and Gustavo F. Trindade},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78604-8},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78604-8},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Spatially resolving isomeric trisaccharides on surfaces with Orbitrap-SIMS
AU - Margaret Moloney
AU - Richard Paterson
AU - Bin Yan
AU - Anya Eyres
AU - Clare L. Newell
AU - Jean-Luc Vorng
AU - Alexander Pirkl
AU - John F. Watts
AU - Ian S. Gilmore
AU - Gustavo F. Trindade
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78604-8
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78604-8
AB - Many biologically important molecules are structural isomers that share the same molecular mass yet differ in shape, bonding and function. This creates an ambiguity for mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), where chemically distinct species can be indistinguishable on the mass-to-charge ( m/z) scale and therefore cannot be reliably mapped in heterogeneous materials. Here we demonstrate that Orbitrap secondary ion mass spectrometry (OrbiSIMS) can provide an orthogonal contrast that enables both identification and spatial separation of isomeric molecules directly on surfaces. By exploiting structure-dependent secondary-ion dissociation and gas-phase collisional effects during ion transmission, we discriminate isomeric trisaccharides raffinose, maltotriose and melezitose and spatially resolve raffinose and maltotriose in mixtures. We benchmark these measurements against ion mobility spectrometry and observe consistent trends between OrbiSIMS transmission behaviour and ion mobility separation. These results establish OrbiSIMS as an approach for isomer-resolved MSI at surfaces and interfaces, opening opportunities to map isomeric biomolecules in complex systems where spatial distribution is central to function.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -