A novel chromatographic method allows on-line reanalysis of the proteome

Mol Cell Proteomics. 2008 Aug;7(8):1452-9. doi: 10.1074/mcp.M800141-MCP200. Epub 2008 Apr 29.

Abstract

Liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization is widely used for direct analysis of polar and labile molecules by LCMS. The on-line coupling in LCMS is a major strength but also causes a principal limitation that each eluting analyte has to be analyzed immediately and is not available for detailed interrogation after the LCMS run. Here we developed a new chromatographic strategy, which removes this limitation. After column separation the flow is split, one portion is analyzed directly, and the other is diverted to a capture capillary. After the direct LCMS run, the flow is switched, and the portion stored in the capillary is analyzed ("replay run"). We describe a setup consisting of an analytical column, a splitting valve, and a focusing column, which performs at full sensitivity and undiminished chromatographic resolution. We demonstrate three principal advantages of this system: nearly continuous MS utilization, duplicate analysis without requirement for additional sample, and targeting of important but undersampled features in the replay run.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods*
  • Liver / chemistry*
  • Mice
  • Proteome / analysis*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Small Ubiquitin-Related Modifier Proteins / metabolism
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry*

Substances

  • Proteome
  • SUMO2 protein, mouse
  • Small Ubiquitin-Related Modifier Proteins