Inflammatory response mediates periodontal tissue destruction occurring in chronic periodontitis. As result, qualitative changes in global peptide and protein GCF composition will generate. AimTo evaluate existence of characteristic peptide and protein profiles in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from patients with chronic periodontitis and controls. MethodsPatients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis (n=8) and healthy controls (n=5) were selected and samples of GCF were obtained. Samples were eluted in 2 different buffers and prepared with 3 matrices to obtain peptide and protein spectra by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis. Subsequently, 3 spectra from each group were processed to obtain final differential spectra. ResultsReproducible peptide and protein profiles were obtained from both stages in GCF. In disease samples we found characteristic patterns represented by more than 100 proteins which were undetectable in controls. ConclusionsWe demonstrate for the first time the usefulness of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in the analysis of qualitative global changes in GCF composition and we present protein and peptide characteristic GCF profiles associated with chronic periodontitis and healthy periodontium.