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Eugene Moskovets

Publications and source records attributed to Eugene Moskovets.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Enhanced characterization of complex proteomic samples using LC-MALDI MS/MS: exclusion of redundant peptides from MS/MS analysis in replicate runs.

Due to the complexity of proteome samples, only a portion of peptides and thus proteins can be identified in a single LC-MS/MS analysis in current shotgun proteomics methodologies. It has been shown that replicate runs can be used to improve the comprehensiveness of the proteome analysis; however, high-intensity peptides tend to be analyzed repeatedly in different runs, thus reducing the chance of identifying low-intensity peptides. In contrast to commonly used online ESI-MS, offline MALDI decouples the separation from MS acquisition, thus allowing in-depth selection for specific precursor ions. Accordingly, we extended a strategy for offline LC-MALDI MS/MS analysis using a precursor ion exclusion list consisting of all identified peptides in preceding runs. The exclusion list eliminated redundant MS/MS acquisitions in subsequent runs, thus reducing MALDI sample depletion and allowing identification of a larger number of peptide identifications in the cumulative dataset. In the analysis of the digest of an Escherichia coli lysate, the exclusion list strategy resulted in a 25% increase in the number of unique peptide identifications in the second run, in contrast to simply pooling MS/MS data from two replicate runs. To reduce the increased LC analysis time for repeat runs, a four-column multiplexed LC system was developed to carry out separation simultaneously. The multiplexed LC-MALDI MS provides a high-throughput platform to utilize the exclusion list strategy in proteome analysis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

High-speed, high-resolution monolithic capillary LC-MALDI MS using an off-line continuous deposition interface for proteomic analysis.

High-speed, high-resolution LC separations, using a poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) monolithic column, have been coupled to MALDI MS and MS/MS through an off-line continuous deposition interface. The LC eluent was mixed with alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid matrix solution and deposited on a MALDI plate that had been precoated with nitrocellulose. Deposition at subatmospheric pressure (80 Torr) formed a 250-microm-wide serpentine trace with uniform width and microcrystalline morphology. The deposited trace was then analyzed in the MS mode using a MALDI-TOF/TOF MS instrument. Continuous deposition allowed interrogation of the separation with a high data sampling rate in the chromatographic dimensions, thus preserving the high resolution of narrow peaks (3-5-s peak width at half-height) of the fast monolithic LC. No extracolumn band broadening due to the deposition process was observed. Over 2000 components were resolved in a 10-min linear gradient separation of the model sample, and 386 unique peptides were identified in the subsequent MS/MS analysis. The continuous deposition interface allows the coupling of high-resolution separations to MALDI MS without degradation in separation efficiency, thus enabling high-throughput proteome analysis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Coumarin tags for analysis of peptides by MALDI-TOF MS and MS/MS. 2. Alexa Fluor 350 tag for increased peptide and protein Identification by LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF MS.

The goal of this study was the development of N-terminal tags to improve peptide identification using high-throughput MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. Part 1 of the study was focused on the influence of derivatization on the intensities of MALDI-TOF MS signals of peptides. In part 2, various derivatization approaches for the improvement of peptide fragmentation efficiency in MALDI-TOF/TOF MS are explored. We demonstrate that permanent cation tags, while significantly improving signal intensity in the MS mode, lead to severe suppression of MS/MS fragmentation, making these tags unsuitable for high-throughput MALDI-TOF/TOF MS analysis. In the present work, it was found that labeling with Alexa Fluor 350, a coumarin tag containing a sulfo group, along with guanidation of epsilon-amino groups of Lys, could enhance unimolecular fragmentation of peptides with the formation of a high-intensity y-ion series, while the peptide intensities in the MS mode were not severely affected. LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF MS analysis of tryptic peptides from the SCX fractions of an E. coli lysate revealed improved peptide scores, a doubling of the total number of peptides, and a 30% increase in the number of proteins identified, as a result of labeling. Furthermore, by combining the data from native and labeled samples, confidence in correct identification was increased, as many proteins were identified by different peptides in the native and labeled data sets. Additionally, derivatization was found not to impair chromatographic behavior of peptides. All these factors suggest that labeling with Alexa Fluor 350 is a promising approach to the high-throughput LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF MS analysis of proteomic samples.

Acetates↗

Increased identification of peptides by enhanced data processing of high-resolution MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectra prior to database searching.

This paper presents application of sequential enhanced data processing procedures to high-resolution tandem mass spectra for identification of peptides using the Mascot database search algorithm. A strategy for (1) selection of fragment ion peaks from MS/MS spectra, (2) utilization of improved mass accuracy of the precursor ions, and (3) wavelet denoising of the mass spectra prior to fragment ion selection have been developed. The number of peptide identifications obtained using the enhanced processing was then compared with that obtained using software provided by the instrument manufacturer. Approximately 9000 MS/MS spectra acquired by the Applied Biosystems 4700 TOF/TOF MS instrument were used as a model data set. After application of the new processing, an increase of 33% unique peptides and 22% protein identifications with at least two unique peptides were found. The influence of the processing on the percentage of false positives, estimated by searching against a randomized database, was estimated to increase false positive identifications from 2.7 to 3.9%, which was still below the 5% error rate specified in the Mascot search. These data processing approaches increase the amount of information that can be extracted from LC-MS analysis without the necessity of additional experiments.

Algorithms↗

Coumarin tags for improved analysis of peptides by MALDI-TOF MS and MS/MS. 1. Enhancement in MALDI MS signal intensities.

The goal of this study was the development of N-terminal tags to improve peptide identification using high-throughput MALDI-TOF MS and MS/MS. The proposed tags, commercially available fluorescent derivatives of coumarin, can be advantageous for peptide analysis in both MS and MS/MS modes. This paper, part 1, will focus on the influence of derivatization on the intensities of MALDI-TOF MS signals of peptides. Labeling peptides with tags containing the coumarin core was found to enhance the intensities of peptide peaks (in some cases over 40-fold) in MALDI-TOF MS using CHCA and 2,5-DHAP matrixes. The signal enhancement was found to be peptide- and matrix-dependent, being the most pronounced for hydrophilic peptides. No correlation was found between the UV absorptivity of the tags at the excitation wavelengths typical for UV-MALDI and the magnitude of the signal enhancement. Interestingly, peptides labeled with Alexa Fluor 350, a coumarin derivative containing a sulfo group (i.e., bearing strong negative charge), showed a 5-15-fold increase in intensity of MALDI MS signal in the positive ion mode, relative to the underivatized peptides, when 2,5-DHAP was used as the matrix. The Alexa Fluor 350 tag yielded a significantly higher signal relative to that for the CAF tag, likely due to the increased hydrophobicity of the coumarin structure. With 2,5-DHB, a decrease of MALDI MS signal was observed for all coumarin-labeled peptides, again relative to the unlabeled species. These findings support the hypothesis that derivatization with coumarin, a relatively hydrophobic structure, improves incorporation of hydrophilic peptides into hydrophobic MALDI matrixes, such as CHCA and 2,5-DHAP.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Closely spaced external standard: a universal method of achieving 5 ppm mass accuracy over the entire MALDI plate in axial matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Close deposition of the sample and external standard was used in axial matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) to achieve mass accuracy equivalent to that obtained with an internal standard across the entire MALDI plate. In this work, the sample and external standard were deposited by continuous deposition in separate traces, each approximately 200 micro m wide. The dependence of the mass accuracy on the distance between the sample and standard traces was determined across a MALDI target plate with dimensions of 57.5 mm x 57.0 mm by varying the gap between the traces from 100 micro m to 4 mm. During acquisition, two adjacent traces were alternately irradiated with a 200-Hz laser, such that the peaks in the resulting mass spectra combined the sample and external standard. Ion suppression was not observed even when the peptide concentrations in the two traces differed by more than two orders of magnitude. The five peaks from the external standard trace were used in a four-term mass calibration of the masses of the sample trace. The average accuracy across the whole plate with this method was 5 ppm when peaks of the sample trace had signal-to-noise ratios of at least 30 and the gap between the traces was approximately 100 micro m. This approach was applied to determining peptide masses of a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (LC) separation of a tryptic digest of beta-galactosidase deposited as a long serpentine trace across the MALDI plate, with accuracy comparable to that obtainable using internal calibration. In addition, the eluent from reversed-phase LC separation of a strong cation-exchange fraction containing tryptic peptides from a yeast lysate along with the closely placed external standard was deposited on the MALDI plate. The data obtained in the MS and MS/MS modes on a MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer were combined and used in database searching with MASCOT. Since the significant score is a function of mass accuracy in the MS mode, database searching with high mass accuracy reduced the number of false positives and also added peptides which otherwise would have been eliminated at lower mass accuracy (false negatives).

Calibration↗

Capillary array electrophoresis-MALDI mass spectrometry using a vacuum deposition interface.

We previously introduced a vacuum deposition interface for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI/TOF MS) on a moving surface (e.g., quartz wheel, Mylar tape, metal target). In our present work, the approach has been extended to demonstrate parallel analysis for multiple on-line infusion MALDI MS and capillary array electrophoresis (CAE)-MALDI MS. In the infusion mode, individual peptide samples were simultaneously deposited on a Mylar tape cartridge using an array of eight capillaries, yielding eight parallel traces. For CAE-MALDI/TOF MS, the same number of separation capillaries were coupled with an array of eight infusion capillaries using a common liquid junction, containing matrix solution. A fast-scanning mirror was employed to traverse the beam of the desorption laser across the Mylar tape to probe one trace at a time. The positions of the eight sample traces formed on the tape were automatically determined, and all samples were analyzed in rapid sequence using a kilohertz repetition rate laser and a high-throughput data acquisition system. The instrumentation was operated with CAE MS for high-throughput analysis without compromising data quality. The principles of parallel separation-vacuum deposition should be generally applicable to MALDI/TOF MS analysis for proteomics and other areas where separation and high throughput are required.

Angiotensins↗