A sensitive and selective phosphopeptide enrichment strategy by combining polyoxometalates and cysteamine hydrochloride-modified chitosan through layer-by-layer assembly

Abstract

Highly efficient enrichment of phosphopeptides in low abundance prior to mass spectrometry analysis is essential in phosphopeptidomics analysis. Herein, an affinity probe possessing both interactions of polyoxometalates (POMs) and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) was facilely prepared. POMs and cysteamine hydrochloride-modified chitosan (CYECS) were assembled onto magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) via a layer-by-layer approach. The developed MNPs-(POM/CYECS) material owned merits of large metal oxide surfaces, positive charge, and hydrophilicity as well as superparamagnetism. By combining with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), the prepared material was utilized for effective enrichment of phosphopeptides. High selectivity (mass ratio of β-casein and bovine serum albumin digests of 1:5000) and low detection limit (0.02 fmol) toward phosphopeptides were achieved. The recovery of phosphopeptides was measured to be 92.6%. The specific enrichment of phosphopeptides from complex samples (nonfat milk, human saliva, serum, and A549 cell lysate) with MNPs-(POM/CYECS) material further confirmed its bright prospects for isolation of phosphopeptides from biological samples.