Phosphoprotein Analysis by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry using On-Probe Tandem Proteolysis and Dephosphorylation

In this investigation, methods based on on-probe enzymatic cleavage matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric (MALDI-TOF-MS) analyses have been developed, allowing the rapid assignment of phosphorylation sites within phosphoproteins. The procedures involved robotic sample deposition of a phosphoprotein, such as intact bovine β-casein, on stainless steel or gold MALDI plates, on-probe proteolysis with trypsin for 10–180?s at 37°C, on-probe dephosphorylation for 1–10?min at 37°C with alkaline phosphatase, followed by differential mass spectrometry with peptide mass mapping. The dephosphorylation conditions were initially optimized using in-solution tryptic digestion of the phosphoprotein performed in the presence of MS-compatible anionic surfactant sodium 3-[(2-methyl-2-undecyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methoxy]-1-propanesulfonate. Two methods of trypsin deactivation were investigated, cooling and quenching by acidification, which resulted in the surfactant either staying intact or becoming cleaved, respectively. Since the surfactant had no detrimental effects on dephosphorylation of phosphopeptides, the acidification and neutralization steps were not included in the final analytical method. A protocol, comprising on-probe tandem, surfactant-aided proteolysis for 3?min followed by on-probe dephosphorylation for 10?min was thus established, allowing the rapid identification of location and sequence of phosphopeptides within a phosphoprotein by these procedures.     

From Adlayer Islands to Surface Alloy: Structural and Chemical Changes on Bimetallic PtRu/Ru(0001) Surfaces

The correlation between structural and chemical properties of bimetallic PtRu/Ru(0001) model catalysts and their modification upon stepwise annealing of a submonolayer Pt‐covered Ru(0001) surface up to the formation of an equilibrated Pt_xRu_1?x/Ru(0001) monolayer surface alloy was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and by the adsorption of CO and D₂ probe molecules. Both temperature‐programmed desorption and IR measurements demonstrate the influence of the surface structure on the adsorption properties of the bimetallic surface, which can be explained by changes of the composition of the adsorption ensembles (ensemble effects) for D adsorption and by changes in the electronic interaction (ligand effects, strain effects) of the metallic constituents for CO and D adsorption upon alloy formation.     

鲨鱼肝铁蛋白亚基解离与组装机理的研究

小批量制备质谱纯鲨鱼肝铁蛋白(Liver Ferritin of Sphyrna zygaena,SZLF)。在弱酸介质(pH1.0)中,天然电泳结果显示,SZLF蛋白质亚基20 min后开始解离。选用透射电子显微镜跟踪SZLF亚基解离与重组装全过程和蛋白壳与铁核尺寸变化,发现SZLF在亚基酸解离过程中,随着pH值的降低,铁核和蛋白壳的尺寸呈现相同的变化趋势,这种变化趋势可能与铁核内层铁的释放和蛋白壳的解离与去折叠有关。SZLF蛋白壳的重组装过程则是一个快速过程,并且是由松散熔球态向紧密态转变的过程。SZLF由单类型亚基组成,而马脾铁蛋白(Horse Spleen Ferritin,HSF)由H和L两种亚基类型组成。在基质pH3.0条件和激光辅助下,混合HSF和SZLF仍然可释放各自的亚基且形成准亚基离子,供基质辅助激光解析电离飞行时间质谱分析,说明此时SZLF的亚基间相互作用强度减弱但并没有去折叠。TEM技术在铁蛋白解离和重组装过程中的应用,为进一步研究铁蛋白纳米包装的过程和机理提供新颖的、可行的和更加直观的研究手段。     

β-环糊精包覆碳纳米管基质用于氨基酸及小分子聚合物的MALDI-FT MS研究

制备了可用作氨基酸及小分子聚合物的MALDI-FTMS分析基质的β-环糊精包覆多壁碳纳米管.通过引入β-环糊精改善其碳纳米管亲水性.所制备的β-环糊精包覆多壁碳纳米管的扫描电镜图表明,该碳纳米管呈现纳米带状结构.与通常的氧化碳纳米管相比,所制备的β-环糊精改性CNT具有更低的背景信号.进一步采用氨基酸及聚乙二醇等小分子化合物对所制备的碳纳米管进行评价,得到很强的氨基酸及聚乙二醇的碱金属离子加合峰,表明该材料可使小分子化合物解吸离子化,且背景干扰小不会影响到小分子化合物检测.由此可见,制备的β-环糊精包覆多壁碳纳米管适于小分子化合物的MALDI-MS分析.     

Thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry approach for characterization of the volatile fraction from amber specimens: A possibility of tracking geological origins

Research on the chemical composition of fossil resins has evolved during the last decades as a multidisciplinary field and is strongly oriented toward the correlation with their geological and botanical origin. Various extraction procedures and chromatographic techniques have been used together for identifying the volatile compounds contained in the fossil resin matrix. Hyphenation between thermal desorption (TD), gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry detection (MS) has been chosen to investigate the volatile compounds fraction from ambers with a focus on Romanite (Romanian amber) and Baltic amber species. A data analysis procedure was developed for the main purpose of fingerprinting ambers based on the MS identity of the peaks generated by the volatile fraction, together with their relative percentual area within the chromatogram. Chromatographic data analysis was based entirely on Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution & Identification System (AMDIS) software to produce deconvoluted mass spectra which were used to build-up a mixed mass spectra and relative retention scale library. Multivariate data analysis was further applied on AMDIS results with successful discrimination between Romanite and Baltic ambers. A special trial was conducted to generate pyrolysis “like” macromolecular structure breakdown to volatile compounds by gamma irradiation with a high absorbed dose of 500 kGy. Contrary to our expectations the volatile fraction fingerprints were not modified after irradiation experiments. A complementary non-destructive new approach by ESR spectroscopy was also proposed for discriminating between Romanite and Baltic ambers.     

二级热脱附-气相色谱-质谱联用测定大气可吸入颗粒物中的16种多环芳烃

建立了二级热脱附-气相色谱-质谱联用技术测定大气可吸入颗粒物PM10中16种多环芳烃的分析方法。对二级热脱附和色谱-质谱条件进行了优化。实验结果表明,方法的检出限为0.14～0.42 ng/m3,平均加标回收率为52.7%～97.9%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为8.0%～18.4%。与传统方法相比,该方法的样品前处理时间短、有机溶剂的使用量少,是对人体及环境友善的检测技术。该方法已应用于32份实际大气颗粒物样品的分析。     

Sorption of light gases in glassy poly(ethyl methacrylate)

Although gas sorption in glassy polymers is a well‐studied phenomenon, no general microscopical model is developed which is able to describe the gas sorption in a wide temperature range using only characteristics of polymer and gas molecule. In this work, sorption isotherms and desorption kinetics of O₂, Ar, and N₂ for glassy poly(ethyl methacrylate) have been measured in the temperature range from 160 to 308 K. To describe both the phenomena, the model is developed which postulates that, in the frozen structure of glassy polymer, any cavities between macromolecules are the sorption sites for small molecules. The cavities of small size can expand elastically to accommodate a gas molecule. The sorption sites are considered to be the potential wells and their depths are distributed according to Gaussian law. The concentration of sorption sites, their mean depth and depths dispersion, and the frequency of molecules oscillations in the sorption sites are the only parameters which determine both the gas transport and sorption. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 288–296     

Comparison of three methods for fractionation and enrichment of low molecular weight proteins for SELDI-TOF-MS differential analysis

In most diseases, the clinical need for serum/plasma markers has never been so crucial, not only for diagnosis, but also for the selection of the most efficient therapies, as well as exclusion of ineffective or toxic treatment. Due to the high sample complexity, prefractionation is essential for exploring the deep proteome and finding specific markers.In this study, three different sample preparation methods (i.e., highly abundant protein precipitation, restricted access materials (RAM) combined with IMAC chromatography and peptide ligand affinity beads) were investigated in order to select the best fractionation step for further differential proteomic experiments focusing on the LMW proteome (MW inferior to 40,000 Da). Indeed, the aim was not to cover the entire plasma/serum proteome, but to enrich potentially interesting tissue leakage proteins. These three methods were evaluated on their reproducibility, on the SELDI-TOF-MS peptide/protein peaks generated after fractionation and on the information supplied.The studied methods appeared to give complementary information and presented good reproducibility (below 20%). Peptide ligand affinity beads were found to provide efficient depletion of HMW proteins and peak enrichment in protein/peptide profiles.