229 RAPID, UNTARGETED LIPID DETERMINATION IN INDIVIDUAL BOVINE OOCYTES AND PRE-IMPLANTATION EMBRYOS BY HIGH-RESOLUTION DESORPTION ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY

Abstract

Lipid structural analysis in individual pre-implantation mammalian embryos is hampered by the small amount of biological material, such that most studies use staining methods or gas chromatography analysis generate information only on the fatty acyl residues. Recent developments in high-resolution desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) allow the analysis of free fatty acids (FA) and glycerophospholipids (PL) in individual bovine embryos. Here, we report on the use of DESI-MS for the sensitive analysis of triacylglycerol (TAG) species, profiles of FA and PL in individual bovine oocytes and embryos. Bovine oocytes (n = 40) and blastocysts (n = 42) were frozen in a minimal volume of PBS (2 to 5 µL). Samples were directly deposited on glass slides after thawing. After drying, a volume of 500 µL of methanol : water (1 : 1, vol/vol) was carefully deposited on the surface of the glass slide and removed by orienting the glass slide vertically to eliminate PBS salts. An Orbitrap mass spectrometer was used for the experiments. Parameters for the positive ion mode were as follows: acetonitrile (ACN) supplemented with 3 µL mL^–1 of AgNO₃ at a 5 µL min^–1 flow rate, injection time of 1000 ms, and a mass-to-charge range of m/z 400 to 1500. For the negative ion mode, the solvent combination used was acetonitrile + dimethylformamide (1 : 1, vol/vol) at a 1.0 µL min^–1 flow rate, a maximum injection time of 1000 ms, and a mass-to-charge range of m/z 150 to 1000. Positive ion mode data for the detection of TAG species were acquired first, followed by acquisition of FA and PL in the negative ion mode. Detection of TAG by DESI, which is extremely useful for bovine embryo cryopreservation and metabolism research, has been performed by adding AgNO₃ in the DESI spray to obtain silver adducts, which are easily recognised by the characteristic 1 : 1 abundance ratio of the 107 : 109 Ag isotopes. The most abundant fatty acyl residues present in TAG species were palmitic (P), linoleic (L), oleic (O), and stearic (S) acids, such as TAG of m/z 937, PPL (50 : 2); m/z 965, POO (52 : 1); m/z 967, POS (52 : 2); m/z 989, OOL/LLS (54 : 4); and m/z 991, OOO, SOL (54 : 3). Free FA and PL profiles collected from the same samples in the negative ion mode were similar to those in our recent report (2012 J. Mass Spectrom. 47, 29–33). Lipid attribution has been performed based on high-resolution mass analysis. Multivariate statistics from this data set will allow visualisation of differences observed in the lipid profiles among samples. In conclusion, we report the use of DESI-MS for the sensitive analysis of TAG in individual bovine oocytes and embryos and the creation of profiles of FA, PL, and TAG species in the same sample by DESI-MS.