Rapid profiling and identification of anthocyanins in fruits with Hadamard transform ion mobility mass spectrometry

The use of Hadamard transform ion mobility mass spectrometry (HT-IMMS) in the profiling of anthocyanins from different fruits is presented. Samples extracted with acidic methanol and purified with solid phase extraction were analyzed with direct IMMS infusion. The separation of various anthocyanins was achieved within 30 s with resolving powers up to 110. The ion mobility drift times correlated with their mass-to-charge ratios with a correlation coefficient of 0.979 to produce a trend line that was characteristic for anthocyanins. Isomers with the same anthocyanidin but different hexoses were differentiated by ion mobility spectrometry. Furthermore, mobility separated ions underwent collision induced dissociation at the IMMS interface to provide MS/MS spectra. These fragmentation spectra aided in the identification of anthocyanidins via the loss of the saccharide groups. IMMS appears to be a rapid and efficient approach for profiling and identifying anthocyanins.