| Abstract: | A new method for determining the amino acid sequence of polypeptides consists in initial partial hydrolysis to yield a complex mixture of oligopeptides. After derivatization to enhance its volatility, the mixture is analyzed by combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The sequence of the polypeptide is established by a computer from the identified oligopeptides. So far polypeptides having up to 40 amino acids have been analyzed by this method. The advantages and disadvantages of the new method compared with the stepwise procedure of the Edman degradation are considered. Since the two methods are based on fundamentally different principles they may prove to be complementary. |
