GlycoFragment and GlycoSearchMS: web tools to support the interpretation of mass spectra of complex carbohydrates

In recent years, mass spectrometry has become the method of choice for high-sensitivity glycan identification. Currently, only a few tools assisting mass spectra interpretation are available. The web application GlycoFragment (www.dkfz.de/spec/projekte/fragments/) calculates all theoretically possible fragments of complex carbohydrates and aims to support the interpretation of mass spectra. GlycoSearchMS (www.dkfz.de/spec/glycosciences.de/sweetdb/ms/) compares each peak of a measured mass spectrum with the calculated fragments of all structures contained in the SweetDB database. The best-matching spectra and the associated structures are displayed in order of decreasing similarity. Since both algorithms work very efficiently, they are well suited to be used for automatic identification of series of mass spectra of complex carbohydrates.