Evaluation and evidence of natural gangliosides with two unsaturated bonds in the ceramide structure obtained by a combination of MALDI-MS and NMR spectroscopy.

Gangliosides are membrane-associated glycosphingolipids. N-Acetyl GM3 and N-glycolyl GM3 are two tumor-associated antigens expressed in cancer tissues such as melanoma and mammalian cancer. In order to use these antigens in GM3-based vaccines for patients with early stage cancer, the synthetic version is recommended to avoid the risk of animal virus transmission from the source.