| Human insulin is a peptide hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. The main aim of this research is to investigate the conformations, stability, aggregation and dissociation of insulin oligomers. An insulin sample (3.0x10-4M) in 5:1 ratio insulin:ZnCl2 was prepared in 1:1 H2O:CH 3CNv/v, with 1.0% v/v CH3COOH and introduced into an electrospray ionization-ion mobility mass spectrometer (ESI-IMMS). The effect of the instrumental parameters on the formation of the insulin oligomers was determined by varying the ESI source conditions. The drift time data were converted into collision cross sections for each insulin oligomer. Using these cross sections the stability of the insulin oligomers were studied to determine factors affecting their stability and aggregation. |
