Collision Cross Sections for Structural Proteomics

Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) allows the structural interrogation of biomolecules by reporting their collision cross sections (CCSs). The major bottleneck for exploiting IM-MS in structural proteomics lies in the lack of speed at which structures and models can be related to experimental data. Here we present IMPACT (Ion Mobility Projection Approximation Calculation Tool), which overcomes these twin challenges, providing accurate CCSs up to 10 6 times faster than alternative methods. This allows us to assess the CCS space presented by the entire structural proteome, interrogate ensembles of protein conformers, and monitor molecular dynamics trajectories. Our data demonstrate that the CCS is a highly informative parameter and that IM-MS is of considerable practical value to structural biologists.