김민선 (한국기초과학지원연구원)

조건 (한국기초과학지원연구원)

김민선 (한국기초과학지원연구원)

유희진 (한국기초과학지원연구원)

조건 (한국기초과학지원연구원)

오한빈 (서강대학교)

Lipooligosaccharides (LOS) are glycolipids composed of lipids and oligosaccharides, serving as essential components of the outer membrane in certain Gram-negative bacteria. LOS play a critical role in host immune responses and are closely linked to infection, inflammation, and especially antibiotic resistance. For these reasons, LOS have been actively studied as promising targets for vaccine and adjuvant development.<i style="text-indent: 12pt; font-size: 11pt;">Acinetobacter baumannii</i> is a Gram-negative, multidrug-resistant pathogen and a major cause of hospital-acquired infections.

In this study, we aimed to analyze the chemical structure of LOS from <i>A. baumannii</i> by developing a specialized analytical method. We optimized a top-down MALDI-TOF MS approach for LOS analysis and additionally employed LC-ESI-MS to separate and investigate the detailed chemical composition of individual LOS molecules.

Our study established a rapid and efficient top-down analysis method for <i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">A. baumannii</i> LOS (AbLOS), enabling comprehensive acquisition of structural information. Further MS/MS analyses will be performed to elucidate precise lipid A modifications, phosphorylation sites, and acyl chain lengths in greater detail.