Direct ESI-MS analysis of O-acyl glycosylated cardiolipins from the thermophilic bacterium Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris

We used direct ESI-MS analysis to identify derivatives of cardiolipin molecular species (i.e. O-acyl glycosylated cardiolipins) from the thermophilic bacterium Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris. We used triple-quadrupole type mass spectrometer for analysis of this complex lipid and enzymatic hydrolysis and 1H and 13C NMR for the identification of these cardiolipin derivatives. These techniques enabled us to identify and quantify the specific molecular species profiles of derivatives of cardiolipin directly from lipid extracts of the bacterium including the identification of the sugar moiety as α-d-mannose and all five acyls including their positional isomers.