Material-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (MELDI)--a new protein profiling tool utilizing specific carrier materials for time of flight mass spectrometric analysis

Advances in the synthesis and application of silver nanoparticles for laser mass spectrometry: A mini-review

Silver nanoparticles are used in laser mass spectrometry to replace organic matrices. Thanks to their unique properties, they enable effective desorption/ionization of samples of various polarities and ionization abilities. This review presents new methods for the synthesis of monoisotopic silver nanoparticles and the use of targets coated with these nanoparticles for qualitative and quantitative analyses of various small-molecule compounds. Additionally, the results of progress in the application of AgNPs for metabolomics analyses were presented.

Fullerene Derivatives (CN-[OH]β) and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Modelled as Transporters for Doxorubicin Drug in Cancer Therapy

Carbon nanomaterials have received increasing attention in drug-delivery applications because of their distinct properties and structures, including large surface areas, high conductivity, low solubility in aqueous media, unique chemical functionalities, and stability at the nano-scale size. Particularly, they have been used as nano-carriers and mediators for anticancer drugs such as Cisplatin, Camptothecin, and Doxorubicin. Cancer has become the most challenging disease because it requires sophisticated therapy, and it is classified as one of the top killers according to the World Health Organization records. The aim of the current work is to study and investigate the mechanism of combination between single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and fullerene derivatives (CN-[OH]β) as mediators, and anticancer agents for photodynamic therapy directly to destroy the infected cells without damaging the normal ones. Here, we obtain a bio-medical model to determine the efficiency of the usefulness of Doxorubicin (DOX) as an antitumor agent conjugated with SWCNTs with variant radii r and fullerene derivative (CN-[OH]β). The two sub-models are obtained mathematically to evaluate the potential energy arising from the DOX–SWCNT and DOX-(CN-[OH]β) interactions. DOX modelled as two-connected spheres, small and large, each interacting with different SWCNTs (variant radii r) and fullerene derivatives CN-[OH]β, formed based on the number of carbon atoms (N) and the number of hydroxide molecules (OH) (β), respectively. Based on our obtained results, we find that the most favorable carbon nanomaterial is the SWCNT (r = 15.27 Å), followed by fullerene derivatives CN-(OH)22, CN-(OH)20, and CN-(OH)24, with minimum energies of −38.27, −33.72, −32.95, and −29.11 kcal/mol.

Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging: A review

In the last decades, surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) has attracted increasing interest due to its unique capabilities, achievable through the nanostructured substrates used to promote the analyte desorption/ionization. While the most widely recognized asset of SALDI-MS is the untargeted analysis of small molecules, this technique also offers the possibility of targeted approaches. In particular, the implementation of SALDI-MS imaging (SALDI-MSI), which is the focus of this review, opens up new opportunities. After a brief discussion of the nomenclature and the fundamental mechanisms associated with this technique, which are still highly controversial, the analytical strategies to perform SALDI-MSI are extensively discussed. Emphasis is placed on the sample preparation but also on the selection of the nanosubstrate (in terms of chemical composition and morphology) as well as its functionalization possibilities for the selective analysis of specific compounds in targeted approaches. Subsequently, some selected applications of SALDI-MSI in various fields (i.e., biomedical, biological, environmental, and forensic) are presented. The strengths and the remaining limitations of SALDI-MSI are finally summarized in the conclusion and some perspectives of this technique, which has a bright future, are proposed in this section.

Applications of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in clinical proteomics

INTRODUCTION

The development of precision medicine requires advanced technologies to address the multifactorial disease stratification and to support personalized treatments. Among omics techniques, proteomics based on Mass Spectrometry (MS) is becoming increasingly relevant in clinical practice allowing a phenotypic characterization of the dynamic functional status of the organism. From this perspective, Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) MS is a suitable platform for providing a high-throughput support to clinics. Areas covered: This review aims to provide an updated overview of MALDI-TOF MS applications in clinical proteomics. The most relevant features of this analysis have been discussed, highlighting both pre-analytical and analytical factors that are crucial in proteomics studies. Particular emphasis is placed on biofluids proteomics for biomarkers discovery and on recent progresses in clinical microbiology, drug monitoring, and minimal residual disease (MRD). Expert commentary: Despite some analytical limitations, the latest technological advances together with the easiness of use, the low time and low cost consuming and the high throughput are making MALDI-TOF MS instruments very attractive for the clinical practice. These features offer a significant potential for the routine of the clinical laboratory and ultimately for personalized medicine.

Mechanisms of Nanophase-Induced Desorption in LDI-MS. A Short Review

Nanomaterials are frequently used in laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) as DI enhancers, providing excellent figures of merit for the analysis of low molecular weight organic molecules. In recent years, literature on this topic has benefited from several studies assessing the fundamental aspects of the ion desorption efficiency and the internal energy transfer, in the case of model analytes. Several different parameters have been investigated, including the intrinsic chemical and physical properties of the nanophase (chemical composition, thermal conductivity, photo-absorption efficiency, specific heat capacity, phase transition point, explosion threshold, etc.), along with morphological parameters such as the nanophase size, shape, and interparticle distance. Other aspects, such as the composition, roughness and defects of the substrate supporting the LDI-active nanophases, the nanophase binding affinity towards the target analyte, the role of water molecules, have been taken into account as well. Readers interested in nanoparticle based LDI-MS sub-techniques (SALDI-, SELDI-, NALDI- MS) will find here a concise overview of the recent findings in the specialized field of fundamental and mechanistic studies, shading light on the desorption ionization phenomena responsible of the outperforming MS data offered by these techniques.

Gold nanoparticle-enhanced target (AuNPET) as universal solution for laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry analysis and imaging of low molecular weight compounds

Preparation is described of a durable surface of cationic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), covering commercial and custom-made MALDI targets, along with characterization of the nanoparticle surface properties and examples of the use in MS analyses and MS imaging (IMS) of low molecular weight (LMW) organic compounds. Tested compounds include nucleosides, saccharides, amino acids, glycosides, and nucleic bases for MS measurements, as well as over one hundred endogenous compounds in imaging experiment. The nanoparticles covering target plate were enriched in sodium in order to promote sodium-adduct formation. The new surface allows fast analysis, high sensitivity of detection and high mass determination accuracy. Example of application of new Au nanoparticle-enhanced target for fast and simple MS imaging of a fingerprint is also presented.

Alternative profiling platform based on MELDI and its applicability in clinical proteomics

The presence of numerous proteomics data and their results in literature reveal the importance and influence of proteins and peptides on human cell cycle. For instance, the proteomic profiling of biological samples, such as serum, plasma or cells, and their organelles, carried out by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, has led to the discovery of numerous key proteins involved in many biological disease processes. However, questions still remain regarding the reproducibility, bioinformatic artifacts and cross-validations of such experimental set-ups. The authors have developed a material-based approach, termed material-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MELDI-MS), to facilitate and improve the robustness of large-scale proteomic experiments. MELDI-MS includes a fully automated protein-profiling platform, from sample preparation and analysis to data processing involving state-of-the-art methods, which can be further improved. Multiplexed protein pattern analysis, based on material morphology, physical characteristics and chemical functionalities provides a multitude of protein patterns and allows prostate cancer samples to be distinguished from non-prostate cancer samples. Furthermore, MELDI-MS enables not only the analysis of protein signatures, but also the identification of potential discriminating peaks via capillary liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The optimized MELDI approach offers a complete proteomics platform with improved sensitivity, selectivity and short sample preparation times.

Mass spectrometric profiling of low-molecular-weight proteins

Tracing potential biomarkers through proteomics has been further developed and is nearing realization. The whole sequence of human proteome is becoming better understood with the passage of time. However, it is a long way to go to pinpoint biomarker proteins out of complex biofluids and use them for clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic applications. From that point of view, the high hopes put in proteomics have not been fulfilled yet. The key reasons for that is the complexity of the proteome and the limited technologies in terms of specificity and reproducibility. Thus, major focus is put on the development of novel innovative analytical techniques in the field of life science, using high-performance single- and multidimensional separation and enrichment methods, such as solid-phase extraction (SPE), liquid chromatography (HPLC), or capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). A newly emerged technology, termed as material-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (MELDI) meets basic requirements and is applied to reduce the complexity of proteomic samples while liquid chromatography (LC) is used for separation and fractionation, followed by identification with MS/MS including database searching analysis. Different MELDI carriers are employed as support materials to specifically bind peptides and proteins from biofluids like serum or urine. The MELDI approach supports automated routine analysis by means of liquid handling robots for high-throughput applications leading to higher reproducibility, crucial for a successful identification of disease markers with MALDI-TOF MS. Such promising new methods and further technical developments will be necessary to answer the high-wrought expectations on the field of proteomics.

High-Throughput Screening of Saliva for Early Detection of Oral Cancer: A Pilot Study

The success of tumour therapy depends considerably on early diagnosis. Therefore, we aimed to develop a widely available, cheap, non-invasive, high-throughput method suitable for screening high-risk populations, at least, for early signs of malignant transformation in the oral cavity. First, in order to identify suitable tumour marker candidates, we compared the protein patterns of five selected saliva samples obtained from healthy controls and tumour patients after electrophoretic separation, excised the bands that were consistently up-regulated in the tumour patients only, and performed matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionisation (MALDI)-time of flight (TOF) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis of the proteins in these bands after in-gel tryptic digestion. From the panel of proteins identified, we chose annexin 1 and peroxiredoxin 2 for further studies based on their presence in the saliva of all five oral cancer patients only. Then, we performed a homology search of protein databases using the primary sequence of each in silico tryptic fragment peptide of these two proteins as bait, and selected a unique peptide for each. Finally, we performed targeted MALDI-TOF MS peptide analysis in a blinded fashion on all samples obtained from 20 healthy controls and 22 tumour patients for the presence of these peptides. We found both peptides present in the saliva samples of all cancer patients only. Even though these tumour markers should be validated in a wider population, our results indicate that targeted MALDI-TOF MS analysis of unique peptides of putative saliva protein tumour biomarkers could be the method of choice for cost-efficient, high-throughput screening for the early detection of oral cancer.

New stationary phases for enrichment and separation in the 'omics' era

'Omics' is a general term for a broad discipline of science and engineering concerned with analyzing the interactions of biological molecular components in various 'omes'. These include genome, proteome, metabolome, expressome and interactome. 'Ome' and 'omics' are very convenient handles for describing the holistic approach for looking at complex systems. 'Omics' will not only have an impact on our understanding of biological processes, but also on the prospect of more accurately diagnosing and treating disease. The development of these 'omics' has depended on, and has also driven, advances in chromatography and electrophoresis, as well as highly sensitive and specific analytical techniques to permit the handling of large numbers of samples with high selectivity and sensitivity. The development and design of novel stationary phases for selective enrichment and separation is one of the key points for establishing a successfully running 'omics' platform. Therefore, this review demonstrates the application of different new materials developed in our laboratory, such as chromatographic stationary phases for selective and sensitive high-speed purification, enrichment and separation in genomics, proteomics and metabolomics.

Nanocomposites as novel surfaces for laser desorption ionizationmass spectrometry

The possibility to utilize nanocomposite films as easy-to-handle surfaces for surface assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) of small molecules, such as pharmaceutical compounds, was evaluated. The signal-to-noise values of acebutolol, propranolol and carbamazepine obtained on the nanocomposite surfaces were higher than the values obtained on plain PLA surface showing that the nanoparticles participate in the ionization/desorption process even when they are immobilized in the polymer matrix. The advantages of nanocomposite films compared to the free nanoparticles used in earlier studies are the ease of handling and reduction of instrument contamination since the particles are immobilized into the polymer matrix. Eight inorganic nanoparticles, titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, magnesium oxide, hydroxyapatite, montmorillonite nanoclay, halloysite nanoclay, silicon nitride and graphitized carbon black at different concentrations were solution casted to films with polylactide (PLA). There were large differences in signal intensities depending on the type of drug, type of nanoparticle and the concentration of nanoparticles. Polylactide with 10% titanium oxide or 10% silicon nitride functioned best as SALDI-MS surfaces. The limit of detection (LOD) for the study was ranging from 1.7 ppm up to 56.3 ppm and the signal to noise relative standard deviations for the surface containing 10% silicon nitride was approximately 20-30%. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated in most cases a good distribution of the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix and contact angle measurements showed increasing hydrophobicity when the nanoparticle concentration was increased, which could influence the desorption and ionization. Overall, the results show that nanocomposite films have potential as surfaces for SALDI-MS analysis of small molecules.

Analysis of various organic and organometallic compounds using nanostructure-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (NALDI-TOFMS)

Nanostructure-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (NALDI-TOFMS) has been developed recently as a matrix-free/surface-assisted alternative to matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). The NALDI surface of silicon nanowires is already very effective for the analysis of small to medium sized, polar organic molecules in positive ion mode. The current study examined this technology for the analysis of several nonpolar organic, organometallic, and ionic compounds in positive ion mode, as well as a fluorinated compound and various acids in negative ion mode. NALDI data are compared and contrasted with MALDI data for the same compounds, and the higher sensitivity of NALDI is highlighted by the successful characterization of two porphyrins for a sample amount of 10 amol per spot.

Functionalized pyrolytic highly oriented graphite polymer film for surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry in environmental analysis

The pyrolytic highly oriented graphite polymer film (PGS) was first employed to analyze low-mass analytes in environmental analysis by surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS). PGS is a synthetic uniform and highly oriented graphite polymer film with high thermal anisotropic conductivity. We have found that negative ion mode SALDI-MS using oxidized PGS (PGS-SALDI-MS) can be used to detect [M-H]- ions from perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids when the PGS surface is modified with the cationic polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI). The signal intensity of PFOA when employing the PEI modification showed a ten-fold increase over that obtained from desorption/ionization on porous silicon (DIOS). PFOA was quantified using PGS-SALDI-MS and the calibration curve showed a wide linear dynamic range of response (20-1000 ppb). The combination of atmospheric pressure ionization and PGS (AP-PGS-SALDI) showed greater signal intensity than vacuum PGS-SALDI for deprotonated PFOA. Several other environmentally important chemicals, including perfluoroalkylsulfonic acid, pentachlorophenol, bisphenol A, 4-hydroxy-2-chlorobiphenyl, and benzo[a]pyrene, were also successfully used to evaluate PGS-SALDI-MS. In addition, we found that nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonic acid was able to produce protonated peptides in positive ion PGS-SALDI-MS, but that perfluoropentanoic acid and trifluoroacetic acid were not. It is suggested that perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids are better protonating agents than perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids in SALDI-MS.

Mass spectrometry of nanodiamonds

Detonation nanodiamonds (NDs) were studied by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF MS). The formation of singly charged carbon clusters, C(n) (+), with groups of clusters at n = 1-35, n approximately 160-400 and clusters with n approximately 8000 was observed. On applying either high laser energy or ultrasound, the position and intensity of the maxima change and a new group of clusters at n approximately 70-80 is formed. High carbon clusters consist of an even number of carbons while the percentage of odd-numbered clusters is quite low (< or =5-10%). On increasing the laser energy, the maximum of ionization (at n approximately 200 carbons) is shifted towards the lower m/z values. It is suggested that this is mainly due to the disaggregation of the original NDs. However, the partial destruction of NDs is also possible. The carbon clusters (n approximately 2-35) are partially hydrogenated and the average value of the hydrogenation was 10-30%. Trace impurities in NDs like Li, B, Fe, and others were detected at high laser energy. Several matrices for ionizing NDs were examined and NDs themselves can also be used as a matrix for the ionization of various organic compounds. When NDs were used as a matrix for gold nanoparticles, the formation of various gold carbides Au(m)C(n) was detected and their stoichiometry was determined. It was demonstrated that TOF MS can be used advantageously to analyze NDs, characterize their size distribution, aggregation, presence of trace impurities and surface chemistry.

Protein microchips in biomedicine and biomarker discovery

Protein microarray technology is of high recent interest, especially for generating confirmatory and complementary information for transcriptomic studies. In this paper, the advantages, technical limitations, main application fields, and some early results of protein microarrays are reviewed. Today protein microchip technology is mostly available in the form of printed glass slides, bioaffinity surfaces, and tissue microarray (TMA)-based techniques. The advantages of glass slide-based microchips are the simplicity of their application and their relatively low cost. Affinity surface-based protein chip techniques are applicable to minute amounts of starting material (< 1 microg), but interrogation of these chips requires expensive instrumentation, such as mass spectrometers. TMAs are useful for parallel testing of antibody specificities on a broad range of histological specimens in a single slide. Protein microarrays have been successfully implemented for serum tumor marker profiling, cell physiology studies, and mRNA expression study verification. Some of the bottlenecks of the technology are protein instability, problems with nonspecific interactions, and the lack of amplification techniques to generate sufficient amounts of the lower abundance proteins. In spite of the current difficulties, protein microchips are envisioned to be available for routine biomedical and diagnostic applications provided that the ongoing technological developments are successful in improving sensitivity, specificity, and reducing costs.

Metal-Chelating Plastic MALDI (pMALDI) Chips for the Enhancement of Phosphorylated-Peptide/Protein Signals

A disposable polymeric pMALDI array with a universal metal cation-chelatable surface for pretreatment/signal enhancement of phosphoproteins and/or phosphopeptides in complex samples was developed. Acrylic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester and methyl methacrylate monomers were copolymerized in thin layer molds in a 1:13.3 molar ratio and subsequently treated with Nalpha,Nalpha-bis(carboxymethyl)-l-lysine to obtain a structured planar MALDI array. The prepared NTA pMALDI chip array was activated with metal cations (e.g., Ga(III), Ni(II)), and the selectivities for phosphopeptides (e.g., trypsin-digested alpha-casein (alpha-Cas), and phospho-angiotensin II (p-Ang)) were evaluated using MALDI-TOF/MS. The highest selectivity for proteins was observed for the Ni(II)-NTA chip. The p-Ang was enriched in the presence of BSA tryptic peptides ca. 5 times and represented the major peak after sample adsorption/washing on Ga(III)-NTA chip. The performance of the Ga(III)-chip, tested on alpha-Cas tryptic digest, is fully comparable to commercial systems. Additionally, higher MW peptides and limited methionine oxidation were observed with the chip. A combination of selective absorption of phosphoproteins on Ni(II)-chips and the further enrichment of digested phosphopeptides on the Ga(III)-chip can prove to be very useful for fast identification of unknown proteins using MALDI-TOF/MS.

Reproducibility in Protein Profiling by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Background: Protein profiling with high-throughput sample preparation and MALDI-TOF MS analysis is a new potential tool for diagnosis of human diseases. However, analytical reproducibility is a significant challenge in MALDI protein profiling. This minireview summarizes studies of reproducibility of MALDI protein profiling and current approaches to improve its analytical performance.

Methods: The PubMed database was searched using combinations of the following search terms: MALDI, SELDI, reproducibility, variation, precision, peak intensity, quantification, peptide, biomarkers, and proteomics. Acceptance criteria were detailed reports on the reproducibility with MALDI protein profiling and studies describing efforts to improve the analytical performance with this technology.

Results: The reported intraexperiment CVs of the peak intensity vary highly between individual protein peaks, with the reported mean CV of the peak intensity varying among studies from 4% to 26%. There is additional interexperiment variation in peak intensity. Current approaches to improve the analytical performance of MALDI protein profiling include automated sample processing, extensive prefractionation strategies, immunocapture, prestructured target surfaces, standardized matrix (co)crystallization, improved MALDI-TOF MS instrument components, internal standard peptides, quality-control samples, replicate measurements, and algorithms for normalization and peak detection.

Conclusions: Further evaluation and optimization of MALDI-TOF MS is recommended before use in routine analysis.

Role of carbon nano-materials in the analysis of biological materials by laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry

At present, carbon nano-materials are being utilized in various procedures, especially in laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) for analyzing a range of analytes, which include peptides, proteins, metabolites, and polymers. Matrix-oriented LDI-MS techniques are very well established, with weak organic acids as energy-absorbing substances. Carbon materials, such as nano-tubes and fullerenes are being successfully applied in the small-mass range, where routine matrices have strong background signals. In addition, the role of carbon nano-materials is very well established in the fractionation and purification fields. Modified diamond powder and surfaces are utilized in binding peptides and proteins from complex biological fluids and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). Polylysine-coated diamond is used for solid-phase extraction to pre-concentrate DNA oligonucleotides. Graphite is useful for desalting, pre-concentration, and as energy-absorbing material (matrix) in desorption/ionization. Carbon nano-tubes in their different derivatized forms are used as matrix materials for the analysis of a range of analytes, such as carbohydrates, amino acids, peptides, proteins, and some environmental samples by LDI-MS. Fullerenes are modified in different ways to bind serum entities analyzed through MALDI/TOF-MS and are subsequently utilized in their identifications. In addition, the fullerenes are a promising matrix in LDI-MS, but improvements are needed.

Nano-structured support materials, their characterisation and serum protein profiling through MALDI/TOF-MS

In the bioanalytical era, novel nano-materials for the selective extraction, pre-concentration and purification of biomolecules prior to analysis are vital. Their application as affinity binding in this regard is needed to be authentic. We report here the comparative application of derivatised materials and surfaces on the basis of nano-crystalline diamond, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes for the analysis of marker peptides and proteins by material enhanced laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry MELDI-MS. In this particular work, the emphasis is placed on the derivatization, termed as immobilised metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), with three different support materials, to show the effectiveness of MELDI technique. For the physicochemical characterisation of the phases, near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is used, which is a well-established method within the analytical chemistry, covering a wide range of applications. NIRS enables differentiation between silica materials and different fullerenes derivatives, in a 3-dimensional factor-plot, depending on their derivatizations and physical characteristics. The method offers a physicochemical quantitative description in the nano-scale level of particle size, specific surface area, pore diameter, pore porosity, pore volume and total porosity with high linearity and improved precision. The measurement takes only a few seconds while high sample throughput is guaranteed.

Recent advances in capillary electrophoresis for biomarker discovery

The use of non-invasive methods for detecting biomarkers opens a new era in patient care, since clinical investigators have long been searching for accurate and reproducible measurements of putative biomarkers. There are many factors which make this research challenging, beginning with lack of standardization of sample collection and continuing through the entire analytical procedure. Among the variety of methods so far used for biomarker screening, capillary electrophoresis represents a robust, reliable, and widely used analytical tool. This review will focus on recent applications of CE to the analysis of body fluids and tissues for identification of biomarkers.

Identification of carbohydrates by matrix-free material-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is a sensitive mass spectrometric technique which utilises acidic materials as matrices for laser energy absorption, desorption and ionisation of analytes. These matrix materials produce background signals particularly in the low-mass range and make the detection and identification of small molecules difficult and nearly impossible. To overcome this problem this paper introduces matrix-free material-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (mf-MELDI-MS) for the screening and analysis of small molecules such as carbohydrates. For this purpose, 4,4'-azo-dianiline was immobilised on silica gel enabling the absorption of laser energy sufficient for successful desorption and ionisation of low molecular weight compounds. The particle and pore sizes, the solvent system for suspension and the sample preparation procedures have been optimised. The newly synthesised MELDI material delivered excellent spectra with regard to signal-to-noise ratio and detection sensitivity. Finally, wheat straw degradation products and Salix alba L. plant extracts were analysed proving the high performance and excellent behaviour of the introduced material.

Mass Spectrometric Identification of Serum Peptides Employing Derivatized Poly(glycidyl methacrylate/divinyl benzene) Particles and μ-HPLC

Biomarkers play a key role in preclinical screening and diagnosis of a disease. Various support materials are utilized for this task, in combination with MALDI-TOF-MS. The way to effectively bind serum contents and their profiling is well-elaborated by the material-enhanced laser desorption ionization (MELDI) approach. In this particular work, focus is placed on the development of a strategy to identify low molecular weight serum peptides. Poly(GMA/DVB) is derivatized in a way to achieve an affinity termed as immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC). Iminodiacetic acid (IDA) is used as a chelating ligand, whereas copper (Cu2+) acts as a metal ion for complexing peptides and proteins out of blood serum. Polymer binds the serum compounds over a broad mass range, which includes low mass peptides and high mass albumin (66 kDa). Bound contents are eluted from material by an acetonitrile/trifluoroacetic acid mixture, which proves the reversible nature of metal and amino acid linkage. Polystyrene/divinyl benzene (PS/DVB) monolithic capillary column is used for fractionation through RP-HPLC, prior to the target spotting. The tandem TOF fragment ion mass spectra of each fraction is acquired and used to search against the Swiss-Prot database, using the Mascot search engine for the identification of peptides.