Differential Mobility Spectrometry (DMS) using a non-radioactive ion source (NRIS) is investigated as a possible medical diagnostic instrument for near real-time detection of breast cancer biomarkers. In previous clinical studies, concentrations of Linoleic, Palmitic and Stearic fatty acids have been observed at different levels in women with carcinoma breast cancer versus women with benign tumors or healthy women showing no signs of breast cancer. Present diagnostic methods require a biopsy of the suspect tissue and a microscopic lab analysis performed to determine its disease state. This process can take hours or days before the patient and doctor are informed of the results. Controlled volumetric samples of each fatty acid listed above were introduced into a DMS instrument, using a NRIS, to determine detectability of each acid. The results provide proof-of-concept that Linoleic, Palmitic and Stearic fatty acids can be uniquely identified by varying the sample temperature and scanning the ionized fatty acid molecules in both the negative and positive ion mode of the DMS instrument. Detection response times range from 2 to 6 seconds for initial detection up to 35 seconds for peak detection. The Limit of Detection for the DMS instrument is estimated in the low parts per billion.

Identification of trace unknown analytes in complex samples remains a significant challenge for analytical chemistry. Mass spectrometry (MS) and analytical separations techniques can now be used to develop and support a new analytical strategy called non-target analysis which aims to provide comprehensive identification and quantification of all detectable chemical species in a complex sample. This thesis addresses challenges currently limiting the utility of this non-target approach by developing analytical methods for acquiring MS data suitable for identification of trace unknowns and investigating current tools available for unknown identification from MS spectral data. Liquid chromatography (LC) - MS, a widely used technique in trace analysis, was used to develop an analytical method capable of simultaneously acquiring high resolution MS and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data for hundreds of metabolites in urine. An emerging separation technique called high field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) was also investigated, as an alternative to LC, for the identification of non-target analytes in urine. Modifications were carried out to the FAIMS-MS source interface allowing for transmission of small metabolite ions from FAIMS to MS. The challenge of direct electrospray (ESI) in urine analysis using ESI-FAIMS-MS was addressed by using sample dilution and extending MS data acquisition time using FAIMS. This allowed for higher quality MS data to be acquired for low abundance urinary metabolites than was possible by LC-MS and the complete elimination of ionization suppression in dilute urine samples. Insight gained into ESI suppression in complex samples allowed for two methods of semi-quantification to be proposed for non-target analytes in complex samples without using unavailable chemical standards. To address the challenge of unknown identification, faced throughout this thesis, an integrated approach was implemented to identify metabolites based only on spectral data without the usual requirement of availability of chemical standards. This approach combined spectral libraries, literature reports on ion chemistry and de novo identification based on gas phase ion chemistry with a detailed fragmentation study on nucleic acid bases, notably protonated uracil. Together, the instrumental methods and approaches to data analysis described allowed for the identification of 110 abundant chemical species detected in urine. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Canadian Foundation for Innovation

La sensibilité et la profondeur de l'analyse protéomique sont limitées par les ions isobares et les interférences qui entravent l'identification des peptides de faible abondance. Lorsque nous analysons des échantillons de grande complexité, une séparation extensive de l'échantillon est souvent nécessaire pour étendre la couverture protéomique. Ces dernières années, la spectrométrie de mobilité ionique à forme d'onde asymétrique à haut champ (FAIMS) a gagné en popularité dans le domaine de la protéomique pour sa capacité à séparer les ions isobares, à améliorer la capacité de pic et la sensibilité de la spectrométrie de masse (MS). Nous rapportons ici l'intégration d'un appareil FAIMS Pro™ à un Q-Exactive HF™ ainsi qu'un spectromètre de masse Orbitrap Exploris 480™. Des expériences protéomiques sur des digestions d'extraits protéiques issues de cellules Hela à l'aide d'un spectromètre de masse avec FAIMS ont amélioré le rapport signal sur bruit (S/N) et réduit les ions interférents, ce qui a entraîné une augmentation du taux d'identification des peptides de plus de 42 %. FAIMS est également combiné avec le fractionnement ionique segmenté (SIFT), qui utilise tour à tour une fenêtre de 100 ~ 300 m/z au lieu de la large plage traditionnelle (700 ~ 800 m/z), augmentant ainsi la profondeur de la couverture protéomique tout en réduisant la proportion de spectres MS/MS chimériques de 50% à 27%. Dans l'analyse quantitative, nous démontrons l'application de FAIMS pour améliorer les mesures quantitatives lorsque le marquage peptidique isobare est utilisé. Par rapport aux expériences LC-MS/MS conventionnelles, la combinaison des expériences FAIMS et SIFT réalisées sur un modèle à deux protéomes a montré une amélioration de 65 % de la précision des mesures quantitatives. Les digestions tryptiques d'extraits protéiques de différentes lignées cellulaires du cancer colorectal ont été utilisées pour l'évaluation de stratégie combinée FAIMS et SIFT sur un spectromètre de masse Orbitrap Exploris 480™ offre un gain d'identification de 70 % par rapport à l'approche conventionnelle et combinée aux données transcriptomiques elle facilite l’identification de variants protéiques. / The sensitivity and depth of proteomic analysis in mass spectrometry (MS) is limited by isobaric ions and interferences that hinder the identification of low-abundance peptides. For high complexity samples, extensive separation is often required to expand proteomic coverage. In recent years, high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) has gained popularity in the field of proteomics for its ability to resolve confounding ions, improve peak capacity, and sensitivity. This thesis presents the integration of a FAIMS Pro™ interface with electrical and gas embedded connections to a Q-Exactive HF™ as well as an Orbitrap Exploris 480™ mass spectrometer. Proteomic experiments on tryptic digests of HeLa cell line using a FAIMS integrated mass spectrometer improved signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and reduced the occurrence of interfering ions. This enabled a 42% increase in peptide identification rate. Also, FAIMS was combined with segmented ion fractionation (SIFT), which in turn scans with windows of 100~300 m/z width instead of the traditional width (700~800 m/z), further increasing the depth of proteome coverage by a reducing from 50% to 27% in terms of MS/MS chimeric spectra numbers. The application of FAIMS gain improvement on quantitative measurements with TMT labeling method is presented. Compared to conventional LC-MS/MS tests, the combination of FAIMS and SIFT experiments showed a improvement by 65% in quantitative accuracy when performed on a human-yeast two-proteome model. As an application of the method, the tryptic digests from different colorectal cancer cell lines were used for the evaluation. FAIMS-SIFTcombined strategy on an Orbitrap Exploris 480™ mass spectrometer provides a 70% gain in identification compared to the conventional LC-MS/MS approach for the same sample amount and instrument time. This enhanced sensitivity facilitates single amino acid mutations confirmed by RNAseq analyses.