Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42249845›Full record

ArticleAnalytical chemistry2026

IMFrag: A Tool to Recognize In-Source Fragmentation in Ion Mobility-Enabled Data-Independent Acquisition Workflows.

Ryan Nguyen, Anvitaa Anandkumar, Griffin Rangel, Jennifer Liem, Yvonne S Lin, Libin Xu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Analytical chemistry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ryan NguyenDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Anvitaa AnandkumarDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Griffin RangelDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Jennifer LiemDepartment of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Yvonne S LinDepartment of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Libin XuDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-1021-5200

Funding

Large-Scale Characterization of ToxCast Compounds and Their Metabolites by High-Throughput Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry: Applications in Human Exposome StudiesF31ES037537 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Ryan Nguyen · 2025 to 2026
$90k
NIEHS NIH HHS F31 ES037537
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

High-resolution mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for untargeted analysis. However, in-source fragmentation (ISF) could lead to the misidentification of compounds in untargeted metabolomics or exposomics studies. To prevent misidentification and to strengthen compound identification through MS/MS spectral library matching, we developed IMFrag, a Jupyter notebook-based tool that utilizes structural information gained from ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) as an orthogonal technique to differentiate independent precursor ions from fragments formed via ISF. We first examined l-tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid that undergoes extensive fragmentation during electrospray ionization (ESI). IM-enabled data-independent acquisition (IM-DIA) analysis revealed distinct mobility signatures for identical fragment ions formed at different instrument sites, enabling discrimination between ISFs generated prior to the IM drift tube and fragments produced via postmobility collision-induced dissociation. Similar patterns were observed for a structurally diverse collection of small molecules. Additional structural information could also be inferred from the IM-DIA workflow, such as unique dimers, protonation sites, and distinct ion types that were not apparent from LC-MS alone. These insights were shown to be useful when applied to healthy human plasma samples, which served as a more complex and biologically relevant matrix that contained ambiguities, such as coeluting, isobaric candidate structures. Thus, IMFrag was developed as an accessible framework for interrogating MS

Indexed as

Ion Mobility SpectrometrySoftwareTryptophanIonsSpectrometry, Mass, Electrospray IonizationTandem Mass SpectrometryWorkflowIonsTryptophan

Identifiers

PMID42249845
PMCPMC13295093

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.