Development of a miniature protein mass spectrometer capable of analyzing native proteins

Qian Xu, Jie Hong, Siyu Liu, Yanbing Zhai, Wei Xu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Current miniature mass spectrometers were usually designed for the detection of small and medium size molecules, including volatile (semi-volatile) compounds, drugs and lipids. In this study, a miniature protein mass spectrometer was developed in this work, which could serve as a biosensor for the rapid identification of proteins as well as their conformations. A linear ion trap with a field radius of 2.5 mm was designed to extend mass range of the instrument to over 6500 Th. Mass resolution and sensitivity of the instrument were also optimized for protein ions by increasing the buffer gas pressure and using a high-gain Faraday detector. It is then demonstrated that the mass spectra of native proteins, such as IgG1, could be acquired by coupling the instrument with a soft electrospray ionization source. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, results suggest that the current instrument could be used to identify target proteins and probe/distinguish their conformations in solutions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number122580
JournalTalanta
Volume233
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2021

Keywords

  • Linear ion trap
  • Miniature mass spectrometer
  • Native protein
  • Protein conformation

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