Characterization of Protein Glycoforms at Intact Level by Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry

Intact mass analysis of proteins is simple, fast, and specific, and it effectively provides structural insight into the proteoforms or variants of the analyzed protein. For instance, the multiple glycoforms of recombinant monoclonal antibodies can be effectively analyzed by intact mass spectrometry (MS). A recent development in the Orbitrap technology has made this platform particularly well suited for analysis of large intact biomolecules, and here we describe procedures for performing intact mass analysis of intact glycoproteins using the Orbitrap platform, with the aim of identifying and quantitating the glycoforms. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of biopharmaceutical immunoglobulins (IgGs), but the procedures can be extended to other glycoproteins as needed.