Rapid Identification of Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in a Marine Extract by HPLC-MS Using Data-Dependent Acquisition

The collision-induced dissociation (CID) of a range of deprotonated fatty acid standards was studied using linear ion trap mass spectrometry. Neutral losses of 78, 98, and 136 Da were consistently observed for fatty acids with five or more double bonds. Comparison of the MS/MS spectra of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and universally C-13-labeled DHA allowed the molecular formulas for these neutral losses to be determined as C6H6, C5H6O2, and C8H8O2. Knowledge of fatty acid fragmentation processes was then applied to identify fatty acids from a sea anemone, Aiptasia pulchella, and dinoflagellate symbiont, Symbiodinium sp. extract Using HPLC-MS, fatty acids were separated and analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry in data dependent acquisition mode. Neutral loss chromatograms for 78, 98, and 136 Da allowed the identification of long chain fatty acids with five or more double bonds. On the basis of precursor ion m/z ratios, chain length and degree of unsaturation for these fatty acids were determined. The application of this technique to an Aiptasia sp. Symbiodinium sp lipid extract enabled the identification of the unusual, long chain fatty acids 24:6, 26:6, 26:7, 28:7, and 28:8 during a single 40 min HPLC-MS analysis.