BSA Digest Research Articles

Octyl‐functionalized hybrid magnetic mesoporous microspheres for enrichment of low‐concentration peptides prior to direct analysis by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Octyl-functionalized hybrid magnetic mesoporous (Fe(3)O(4)·nSiO(2)·meso-hybrid-C8) microspheres were synthesized and applied in the isolation and pre-concentration of low-concentration peptides prior to direct analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Such microspheres possess high surface area (324 m(2)/g), hydrophobic group (C8), relatively large pore volume (0.304 cm(3)/g), uniform pore diameter (~3.7 nm), and magnetic responsivity, which make them a simple and efficient kind of adsorbent for the enrichment of low-concentration peptides. For bovine serum albumin (BSA, 15 fmol μL(-1)) digest, after concentration by Fe(3)O(4)·nSiO(2)·meso-hybrid-C8 microspheres, the enrichment performance was evidently better than those obtained by solvent evaporation and C8-functionalized magnetic particles, and comparable to those obtained by commercial Anchor chip target and ZipTipC18 pipette tip. Such microspheres were further applied in the enrichment of the tryptic digests of rat cerebellum proteins and endogenous peptides of crude human serum, and more peaks with higher signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio were obtained than before pre-concentration. Furthermore, the pre-concentration reproducibility of magnetic microspheres for biological samples was good, and the limit of detection (LOD) for BSA digests by MALDI-TOF MS was decreased by at least one order of magnitude compared with that obtained without pre-concentration. All the above-mentioned results indicate that the synthesized Fe(3)O(4)·nSiO(2)·meso-hybrid-C8 microspheres are promising for the enrichment of low-concentration peptides from complex biosamples.

Hydrophilic monolith based immobilized enzyme reactors in capillary and on microchip for high-throughput proteomic analysis

A novel kind of hydrophilic monolith based immobilized enzyme reactors (IMERs) was prepared both in UV-transparent capillaries and on glass microchips by the photopolymerization of N-acryloxysuccinimide and poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate, followed by trypsin immobilization. The performance of capillary IMERs for protein digestion was evaluated by the digestion of myoglobin with the residential time from 12 s to 71 s. With μRPLC–ESI-MS/MS analysis, the obtained sequence coverages were all over 80%, comparable to that obtained by in-solution digestion for 12 h. The nonspecific absorption of BSA on monolithic support was evaluated, and no obvious protein residue was observed by a fluorescence assay. Moreover, no carry-over of the digests on the capillary IMER was found after the digestion of myoglobin (24 μg) and BSA (9 μg), which further demonstrated the good hydrophilicity of such matrix. In addition, an integrated microchip-based system involving on-line protein digestion by microchip-based IMER, peptides separation by nanoRPLC and identification by ESI-MS/MS was established, by which a mixture of standard proteins and one RPLC fraction of Escherichia coli extract were successfully identified, indicating that the hydrophilic monolith based IMER might provide a promising tool for high-throughput proteomic analysis.

Efficient proteolysis using a regenerable metal‐ion chelate immobilized enzyme reactor supported on organic–inorganic hybrid silica monolith

A metal-ion chelate immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) supported on organic-inorganic hybrid silica monolith was developed for rapid digestion of proteins. The monolithic support was in situ prepared in a fused silica capillary via the polycondensation between tetraethoxysilane hydrolytic sol and iminodiacetic acid conjugated glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane. After activated by Cu(2+) , trypsin was immobilized onto the monolithic support via metal chelation. Proteolytic capability of such an IMER was evaluated by the digestion of myoglobin and BSA, and the digests were further analyzed by microflow reversed-phase liquid chromatography with ESI-MS/MS. Similar sequence coverages of myoglobin and BSA were obtained by IMER, in comparison to those obtained by in-solution digestion (91 versus 92% for 200 ng myoglobin, and 26 versus 26% for 200 ng BSA). However, the digestion time was shortened from 12 h to 50 s. When the enzymatic activity was decreased after seven runs, the IMER could be easily regenerated by removing Cu(2+) via EDTA followed by trypsin immobilization with fresh Cu(2+) introduced, yielding the equal sequence coverage (26% for 200 ng BSA). For ∼5 μg rat liver extract, even more proteins were identified with the immobilized trypsin digestion within 150 s in comparison to the in-solution digestion for 24 h (541 versus 483), demonstrating that the IMER could be a promising tool for efficient and high-throughput proteome profiling.

Two‐dimensional separation system by on‐line hyphenation of capillary isoelectric focusing with pressurized capillary electrochromatography for peptide and protein mapping

A novel on-line 2-D system was developed for peptide and protein mapping. The system combines capillary IEF (cIEF) with pressurized CEC (pCEC) using a micro-injection valve as the interface. Sample fractions, which were focused and separated in the first-dimension cIEF based on their differences in pIs, were electrically mobilized and further successively resolved by their differences in size, hydrophobicity, and electrophoretic mobility in the second-dimension pCEC. In the presented system, the valve interface was free of the external electric field in two dimensions for the purpose of stabilization, safety, and facilitating manipulation. In the first dimension, cIEF separation was executed by a one-step method to simplify the operation procedure. Moreover, a home-made electrical decoupler was introduced to isolate the micro-injection valve from the cIEF electric field. For the second dimension, taking advantage of the combination of hydrodynamic flow with EOF, reversed-phase pCEC not only offers on-column refocusing the effluent fractions, but also brings enhanced separation resolution and elution speed. Separation effectiveness of this 2-D system was demonstrated by the analysis of tryptic digest of BSA and human red blood cell lysate. A theoretical peak capacity of approximately 24,000 has been achieved for BSA digest, which proves its promising potential for the application in proteomics.

Glycation sites in neoglycoglycoconjugates from the terminal monosaccharide antigen of the O‐PS of Vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Ogawa, and BSA revealed by matrix‐assisted laser desorption–ionization tandem mass spectrometry

We present the MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS analyses of various hapten-bovine serum albumin (BSA) neoglycoconjugates obtained by squaric acid chemistry coupling of the spacer-equipped, terminal monosaccharide of the O-specific polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Ogawa, to BSA. These analyses allowed not only to calculate the molecular masses of the hapten-BSA neoglycoconjugates with different hapten-BSA ratios (4.3, 6.6 and 13.2) but, more importantly, also to localize the covalent linkages (conjugation sites) between the hapten and the carrier protein. Determination of the site of glycation was based on comparison of the MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS analysis of the peptides resulting from the digestion of BSA with similar data resulting from the digestion of BSA glycoconjugates, followed by sequencing by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS/MS of the glycated peptides. The product-ion scans of the protonated molecules were carried out with a MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS/MS tandem mass spectrometer equipped with a high-collision energy cell. The high-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra afforded product ions formed by fragmentation of the carbohydrate hapten and amino acid sequences conjugated with fragments of the carbohydrate hapten. We were able to identify three conjugation sites on lysine residues (Lys235, Lys437 and Lys455). It was shown that these lysine residues are very reactive and bind lysine specific reagents. We presume that these Lys residues belong to those that are considered to be sterically more accessible on the surface of the tridimensional structure. The identification of the y-series product ions was very useful for the sequencing of various peptides. The series of a- and b-product ions confirmed the sequence of the conjugated peptides.

Analysis of peptides using N‐methylpolyvinylpyridium as silica surface modifier for CE‐ESI‐MS

In this study, the N-methylpolyvinylpyridinuim polymer has for the first time been used as a silica surface modifier for CE in combination with ESI MS (CE-ESI-MS). The compatibility for ESI-MS was demonstrated by the analysis of peptides and protein digests. The N-methylpolyvinylpyridium surface interacts electrostatically with the ionized silanol groups, giving a cationic surface with a reversed EOF. The surface modifier gave rapid and repeatable separations of peptides, proteins and protein digests at acidic pH for more than 4 h of continuous use. The CE separation yielded peak efficiencies of up to 4.3 x 10(5) plates/m. The surface coating is highly compatible with ESI and facilitates the separation and analysis of complex peptide mixtures as shown by the analysis of BSA digests.

Introduction of 4-Chloro-α-cyanocinnamic Acid Liquid Matrices for High Sensitivity UV-MALDI MS

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is a key ionization technique in mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of labile macromolecules. An important area of study and improvements in relation to MALDI and its application in high-sensitivity MS is that of matrix design and sample preparation. Recently, 4-chloro-alpha-cyanocinnamic acid (ClCCA) has been introduced as a new rationally designed matrix and reported to provide an improved analytical performance as demonstrated by an increase in sequence coverage of protein digests obtained by peptide mass mapping (PMM) (Jaskolla, T. W.; et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2008, 105, 12200-12205). This new matrix shows the potential to be a superior alternative to the commonly used and highly successful alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA). We have taken this design one step further by developing and optimizing an ionic liquid matrix (ILM) and liquid support matrix (LSM) using ClCCA as the principle chromophore and MALDI matrix compound. These new liquid matrices possess greater sample homogeneity and a simpler morphology. The data obtained from our studies show improved sequence coverage for BSA digests compared to the traditional CHCA crystalline matrix and for the ClCCA-containing ILM a similar performance to the ClCCA crystalline matrix down to 1 fmol of BSA digest prepared in a single MALDI sample droplet with current sensitivity levels in the attomole range. The LSMs show a high tolerance to contamination such as ammonium bicarbonate, a commonly used buffering agent.

Effects of Antifungal Agents in Sap Activity of Candida albicans Isolates

Some antifungal agents have shown to exert effects on expression of virulent factors of Candida as the production of secretory aspartyl proteinase (Sap). In this study, we sought to determine and to compare the influence of fluconazole and voriconazole in proteinase activity of this microorganism. Thirty-one isolates obtained from oral mucosa of human immunodeficiency virus positive (HIV) patients were used in this study. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of fluconazole and voriconazole were determined using the broth microdilution method with RPMI 1640 medium and with yeast carbon base-bovine serum albumin (YCB-BSA) medium. The Sap activity following by digestion of BSA as substrate was determined for four Candida albicans strains arbitrarily chosen according to susceptibility (susceptible or resistant) to fluconazole or voriconazole. Besides, the SAP1 to SAP7 genes were screened by PCR for the same isolates that were determined by the Sap activity. In vitro susceptibility testing using the two media presented similar MIC values. Increased Sap activity was observed in resistant isolates on presence of drugs, but the Sap activity by susceptible isolates to azoles showed different behavior on the presence of drug. We detected the presence of SAP1 to SAP7 genes from all susceptible or resistant C. albicans isolates. The present study provides important data about the proteinase activity and the presence of genes of SAP family in fluconazole and voriconazole susceptible or resistant C. albicans isolates.

Potential of long capillary monolithic columns for the analysis of protein digests

The gain in separation efficiency for protein digests using long monolithic columns has been evaluated for a LC-MS system with capillary monolithic columns of different lengths (150 and 750 mm). A mixture of BSA, alpha-casein and beta-casein tryptic digests was used as a test sample. Peak capacity and productivity (peak capacity per unit time) were determined from base peak chromatograms and MS/MS data were used for protein identification by MASCOT database searching. Peak capacity and protein identification scores were higher for the long column. Analyses with similar gradient slope for the two columns produced ratios of the peak capacities that were slightly higher than the expected value of the square root of the column length ratio. Peak capacity ratios varied from 2.7 to 4.0 for four different gradient slopes, while protein identification scores were 2-4 times higher for the long column. Similar values were obtained for the productivity of both columns and the highest productivity was obtained at gradient times of 45 and 75 min for the short and long column, respectively. The use of long monolithic columns improves peptide separation and increases reliability of protein identification for complex digests, especially if longer gradients are chosen.

Infrared‐assisted proteolysis using trypsin‐immobilized silica microspheres for peptide mapping

A novel proteolysis approach was developed by using infrared (IR) radiation and trypsin-immobilized silica microspheres. Protein solutions containing trypsin-immobilized microspheres in sealed transparent Eppendorf tubes were allowed to digest under an IR lamp at 37 degrees C. The feasibility and performance of the present proteolysis approach were demonstrated by the digestion of BSA and cytochrome c (Cyt-c) and the digestion time was significantly reduced to 5 min. The obtained digests were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS with the sequence coverages of 54% (BSA) and 83% (Cyt-c) that were better than those obtained by conventional in-solution tryptic digestion. The suitability of the new digestion approach to complex proteins was demonstrated by digesting human serum. The present proteolysis strategy is simple and efficient and will find a wide range of application in protein identification.

Novel Automated Biomarker Discovery Work Flow for Urinary Peptidomics

Urine is potentially a rich source of peptide biomarkers, but reproducible, high-throughput peptidomic analysis is often hampered by the inherent variability in factors such as pH and salt concentration. Our goal was to develop a generally applicable, rapid, and robust method for screening large numbers of urine samples, resulting in a broad spectrum of native peptides, as a tool to be used for biomarker discovery. Peptide samples were trapped, desalted, pH-normalized, and fractionated on a miniaturized automatic reverse-phase strong cation exchange (RP-SCX) cartridge system. We analyzed eluted peptides using MALDI-TOF, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance, and liquid chromatography-iontrap mass spectrometry. We determined qualitative and quantitative reproducibility of the system and robustness of the method using BSA digests and urine samples, and we used a selected set of urine samples from Schistosoma haematobium-infected individuals to evaluate clinical applicability. The automated RP-SCX sample cleanup and fractionation system exhibits a high qualitative and quantitative reproducibility, with both BSA standards and urine samples. Because of the relatively high cartridge binding capacity (1-2 mL urine), eluted peptides can be measured with high sensitivity using multiple mass spectrometric techniques. As proof of principle, hemoglobin-derived peptides were identified in urine samples from S. haematobium-infected individuals, even when the microhematuria test was negative. We present a practical, step-by-step method for screening and identification of urinary peptides. Alongside the analytical method evaluation on standard samples, we demonstrate its feasibility with actual clinical material.

Alternating current‐assisted on‐plate proteolysis for MALDI‐TOF MS peptide mapping

In this report, alternating current-assisted on-plate proteolysis has been developed for rapid peptide mapping. Protein solutions containing trypsin were allowed to digest directly on the spots of a stainless steel MALDI plate with the assistance of low-voltage alternating current electricity. Alternating current (AC) was allowed to pass through the protein solutions via the MALDI plate and a platinum disc electrode. The feasibility and performance of the novel proteolysis approach were investigated by the digestion of BSA and cytochrome c (Cyt-c). It was demonstrated that AC substantially enhanced the efficiency of proteolysis and the digestion time was significantly reduced to 5 min. The digests were identified by MALDI-TOF MS with sequence coverages of 42% (BSA) and 77% (Cyt-c) that were comparable to those obtained by using conventional in-solution tryptic digestion. The present proteolysis strategy is simple and efficient, offering great promise for MALDI-TOF MS peptide mapping.

Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Phosphopeptides after Peptide Carboxy Group Derivatization

A nearly 100% yield peptide carboxy group derivatization method was offered to largely enhance phosphopeptide ionization efficiency. This method, adopting 1-(2-pyrimidyl) piperazine (PP) as the derivatization reagent, shows several advantages such as good reproducibility, ease of handling, rapid reaction time, and no side reaction. PP derivatization improves the hydrophobicities, p I values, and gas-phase basicities of peptides especially those of phosphopeptides. In the matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) source, the ionization efficiencies of four synthetic phosphopeptides were increased by 50-101 times while that of three nonphosphopeptides were 10-40-fold. In the electrospray ionization (ESI) source, PP-derivatized phosphopeptides also gave much higher ionization efficiency improvements than nonphosphopeptides. When this method was applied to much more complex mixtures, tryptic BSA digests spiked with one single phosphopeptide in different molar ratios, the signal intensity of this phosphopeptide always had the largest increment among all those peptides. Obviously, this easily manipulated as well as highly specific method provides a promising tool for high-throughput phosphoproteome research.

Infrared‐assisted tryptic proteolysis for peptide mapping

In this report, infrared (IR) radiation was employed to enhance the efficiency of tryptic proteolysis for peptide mapping. Protein solutions containing trypsin in sealed transparent Eppendorf tubes were allowed to digest under an IR lamp at 37 degrees C. The feasibility and performance of the novel proteolysis approach were demonstrated by the digestion of BSA and myoglobin (MYO) and the digestion time was significantly reduced to 5 min. The obtained digests were identified by MALDI-TOF MS with the sequence coverages of 69% (BSA) and 90% (MYO) that were much better than those obtained by conventional in-solution tryptic digestion. The present IR-assisted proteolysis strategy is simple and efficient, offering great promise for high-throughput protein identification.

Trypsin‐immobilized fiber core in syringe needle for highly efficient proteolysis

In this report, a core-changeable needle enzymatic reactor was developed for highly efficient proteolysis. A piece of enzyme-immobilized fiber core was inserted into the needle of a syringe pump to form a flow-through bioreactor. The novel in-needle bioreactor could be regenerated by changing its fiber core. The feasibility and performance of the unique bioreactor were demonstrated by the tryptic digestion of BSA and lysozyme and the digestion time was significantly reduced to less than 5 s. The digests were identified by MALDI-TOF MS with sequence coverages comparable to those obtained by the conventional in-solution tryptic digestion. The present in-needle bioreactor provides a promising platform for the high-throughput protein identification.

Highly selective and rapid enrichment of phosphorylated peptides using gallium oxide‐coated magnetic microspheres for MALDI‐TOF‐MS and nano‐LC‐ESI‐MS/MS/MS analysis

In this work, we present, to our knowledge, the first demonstration of the utility of iron oxide magnetic microspheres coated with gallium oxide for the highly selective enrichment of phosphopeptide prior to mass spectrometric analysis. These microspheres that we prepared not only have a shell of gallium oxide, giving them a high-trapping capacity for the phosphopeptides, but also their magnetic property enables easy isolation by positioning an external magnetic field. Tryptic digest products of phosphoproteins including beta-casein, ovalbumin, casein, as well as five protein mixtures were used as the samples to exemplify the feasibility of this approach. In very short time (only 0.5 min), phosphopeptides sufficient for characterization by MALDI-TOF-MS were selectively enriched by the Ga(2)O(3)-coated Fe(3)O(4) microspheres. The performance of the Ga(2)O(3)-coated Fe(3)O(4) microspheres were further compared with Fe(3+)-immobilized magnetic silica microspheres, commercial Fe(3+)-IMAC resin, and TiO2 beads for enrichment of peptides originating from tryptic digestion of beta-casein and BSA with a molar ratio of 1:50, and the results proved a stronger selective ability of Ga(2)O(3)-coated Fe(3)O(4) microspheres over the other materials. Finally, the Ga(2)O(3)-coated Fe(3)O(4) microspheres were successfully utilized for enrichment of phosphopeptides from digestion products of rat liver extract. All results show that Ga(2)O(3)-coated Fe(3)O(4) microsphere is an effective material for selective isolation and concentration of phosphopeptides.

A Metal-coded Affinity Tag Approach to Quantitative Proteomics

The quantitative analysis of protein mixtures is pivotal for the understanding of variations in the proteome of living systems. Therefore, approaches have been recently devised that generally allow the relative quantitative analysis of peptides and proteins. Here we present proof of concept of the new metal-coded affinity tag (MeCAT) technique, which allowed the quantitative determination of peptides and proteins. A macrocyclic metal chelate complex (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)) loaded with different lanthanides (metal(III) ions) was the essential part of the tag. The combination of DOTA with an affinity anchor for purification and a reactive group for reaction with amino acids constituted a reagent that allowed quantification of peptides and proteins in an absolute fashion. For the quantitative determination, the tagged peptides and proteins were analyzed using flow injection inductively coupled plasma MS, a technique that allowed detection of metals with high precision and low detection limits. The metal chelate complexes were attached to the cysteine residues, and the course of the labeling reaction was followed using SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF MS, ESI MS, and inductively coupled plasma MS. To limit the width in isotopic signal spread and to increase the sensitivity for ESI analysis, we used the monoisotopic lanthanide macrocycle complexes. Peptides tagged with the reagent loaded with different metals coelute in liquid chromatography. In first applications with proteins, the calculated detection limit for bovine serum albumin for example was 110 amol, and we have used MeCAT to analyze proteins of the Sus scrofa eye lens as a model system. These data showed that MeCAT allowed quantification not only of peptides but also of proteins in an absolute fashion at low concentrations and in complex mixtures.

Fiber‐packed channel bioreactor for microfluidic protein digestion

The fabrication and performance of a fiber-packed channel bioreactor in microchip along with its application in protein analysis were reported. The feasibility and performance of the unique microfluidic bioreactor were demonstrated by the tryptic digestion of myoglobin (MYO) and BSA. The on-chip digestion was carried out at a flow rate of 2.0 microL/min and the digestion time was significantly reduced to less than 5 s. The digests were identified by MALDI-TOF MS with sequence coverages of 66% (MYO) and 40% (BSA) that were comparable to those obtained by the conventional in-solution tryptic digestion. The present fiber-based microchip bioreactor provides a promising platform for the high-throughput protein identification.

Rapid and automatic on‐plate desalting protocol for MALDI‐MS: Using imprinted hydrophobic polymer template

A novel protocol of rapid and automatic on-plate desalting (OPD) and peptide concentration for 2-DE-MALDI-MS has been developed by the approach of templating the hydrophobic polymer solution over Kapton-etched mask. For the template technique, small hydrophobic polymer [linear poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PMMA derivatized with fullerene-C60 (PMMA-C60), linear polystyrene (PSt), or PSt derivatized with fullerene-C60 (PSt-C60)] spots (990 microm od) are patterned at the centers of stainless MALDI plate wells (1400 microm id). Tryptic-peptide solution with no predesalting was dropped onto the central hydrophobic spots, resulting in a concentration of proteolytic peptides on the hydrophobic polymer surface with a reduced spot size. The dried peptide layer was then covered subsequently with over-volume matrix solution, causing the removal of redissolved salts from the spot center to the spot edge by means of a natural "outward flow." The proposed OPD protocol exhibited a dramatic enhancement in S/N up to 850 for 14 fmol BSA digests in the coexistence of 100 mM salts, compared with barely detectable peaks in ordinary way. This analysis has shown that the success rate of identification was increased by two-fold for low abundance proteins in the human liver tissue with no need for the conventional ZipPlate desalting strategy.

Voltage‐assisted capillary LC of peptides using monolithic capillary columns prepared by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization

We examined the use of monolithic capillary columns prepared via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) for peptide separation in voltage-assisted capillary LC (voltage-assisted CLC). In order to demonstrate their potential for peptide separation, ROMP-derived monoliths with RP properties were prepared. The preparation procedure of monoliths was transferred from ROMP monoliths optimized for CLC. ROMP monoliths were synthesized within the confines of 200 microm id fused-silica capillaries with a length of 37 cm. After optimization of the chromatographic conditions, the separation performance was tested using a well-defined set of artificial peptides as well as two peptidic mixtures resulting from a tryptic digest of BSA as well as a collagenase digest of collagen. ROMP monoliths showed comparable performance to other monolithic separation media in voltage-assisted CLC published so far. Therefore, we conclude that by optimizing the composition of the ROMP monoliths as well as by using the controlled manner of their functionalization, ROMP monoliths bear a great potential in CLC and CEC.