Provide guidance on how to obtain MS spectra of intact proteins
Though obtaining high quality MS/MS spectra of proteins is often the goal, a challenge that often hampers researchers is first obtaining good MS spectra of the intact proteins. This is often the result of problems encountered in the protein separation phase. The Consortium started this effort to help researchers shorten the time to develop efficient methods for intact protein LC/MS.
Using a standard protein mixture, the goals of this project are to:
- Quantify the suppressive/enhancing effects of common additives (buffer constituents, chaotrophs, etc) on intact protein signals
- Provide sample preparation methods that enhance intact protein MS (even in the presence of significant background), specifically protein precipitation, ultrafiltration, and LC-MS.
- Provide intact protein MS benchmarks on multiple instrumentation platforms for infusion and LC-MS.
This project has been finalized the the findings are published in this Nature Methods Open Access article.
