A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry assay for the detection and quantification of trehalose in biological samples

•A LC–MS/MS assay for the quantification of the disaccharide trehalose is described.•The assay is more sensitive than commonly-used assays for trehalose quantification.•This assay can detect and quantify endogenous trehalose from E. coli cells.

Trehalose is an important disaccharide that is used as a cellular protectant by many different organisms, helping these organisms better survive extreme conditions, such as dehydration, oxidative stress, and freezing temperatures. Methods to detect and accurately measure trehalose from different organisms will help us gain a better understanding of the mechanisms behind trehalose’s ability to act as a cellular protectant. A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) assay using selected reaction monitoring mode for the detection and quantification of trehalose using maltose as an internal standard has been developed. This assay uses a commercially available LC column for trehalose separation and a standard triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, thus allowing many scientists to take advantage of this simple assay. The calibration curve from 3 to 100 μM trehalose was fit best by a single polynomial. This LC–MS/MS assay directly detects and accurately quantifies trehalose, with an instrument limit of detection (LOD) that is 2–1000 times more sensitive than the most commonly-used assays for trehalose detection and quantification. Furthermore, this assay was used to detect and quantify endogenous trehalose produced by Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells, which were found to have an intracellular concentration of 8.5 ± 0.9 mM trehalose. This method thus shows promise for the reliable detection and quantification of trehalose from different biological sources.