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Figure 3 | BMC Bioinformatics

Figure 3

From: QUDeX-MS: hydrogen/deuterium exchange calculation for mass spectra with resolved isotopic fine structure

Figure 3

Example calculation of deuterium incorporation based on deuterated substance P. The [M + 2H]2+ of substance P is shown on the left, with each inset showing a zoomed view of the isotopic fine structure detected for each peak that is typically convoluted at lower resolving powers. QUDeX-MS determines deuterium incorporation by first finding the percent contribution each pseudomonoisotopic peak has relative to the sum of all the pseudomonoisotopic peaks plus the monoisotopic peak (green star). The average number of deuterium is then determined by multiplying these percentages by the corresponding number of deuterium incorporated for each peak. As a deuterium nuclei is approximately 0.003 Da heavier than a 13C nuclei, the pseudomonoisotopic peak (that is, the peak associated with deuterium being the only heavy isotope in an ion) is seen to be the rightmost peak within a fine isotopic distribution for a given nominal mass. A major contribution to the intensity of the peaks to the left of the pseudomonoisotopic peak (seen spaced 0.0015 m/z apart in this example, as the [M + 2H]2+ of substance P is shown) are the isotopomers consisting of increasing number of 13C and decreasing number of deuterium.

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