Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of Glycosaminoglycan Oligosaccharides

A hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). mass spectrometric (MS) method was developed for the analysis of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) oligosaccharides. By using 5 mmol/L NH4Ac as the mobile phase which was compatible with MS, four types of HILIC columns were investigated to analyze GAG oligosaccharides. The results showed that, amino. HILIC column was unsuitable for all glycosaminoglycan (GAG) oligosaccharides, amide. HILIC column was useful only for hyaluronan oligosaccharides from dp2 to dp20, zwitterionic phase HILIC column was useful for hyaluronan oligosaccharides from dp2 to dp30 and to a lesser extent for chondroitin oligosaccharides from dp2 to dp12, and diol. HILIC column afforded excellent resolution of hyaluronan (dp2 - dp30), chondroitin sulfate (dp2 - dp20) and heparin (dp4 - dp20) oligosaccharides. In conclusion, different HILIC columns were investigated and on the basis of this, GAG oligosaccharides were separated and then analyzed by HILIC-MS method. The developed methods have higher resolution and better compatibility of MS.