Polypeptides, for example those separated on a gel, are electroblotted through a digestion membrane to a composite capture membrane that can be directly analyzed using mass spectrometry. The molecular weights of the fragments generated by the digestion membrane are then used to identify the polypeptide from which they originated. The digestion membrane contains an immobilized protease such as trypsin, which cleaves the electroblotted proteins into fragments during electroblotting with such high enzyme cleavage capacity and efficiency that one pass of the polypeptide through the membrane is sufficient. The peptide fragments are collected onto a composite capture membrane that is chemically treated, for example, by adding a mixture of nitrocellulose and MALDI matrix, so as to absorb peptides near the surface to facilitate desportion, thereby increasing the sensitivity of subsequent analysis by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. In one application, labeling of proteins with reagents containing combinations of stable heavy isotopes prior to electroblotting and digestion permits the relative quantification of protein expression in two or more samples in a single operation. In another application, the gel containing separated polypeptides is replaced by a tissue sample, or blot of a tissue sample. The polypeptides from the tissue sample are then electroblotted through the digestion membrane onto the capture membrane, permitting the imaging of the tissue based on the proteins identified by mass spectrometry.
多肽(例如在凝胶上分离的
多肽)通过消化膜电印迹到复合捕获膜上,该捕获膜可直接使用质谱仪进行分析。消化膜产生的片段的分子量可用于识别其来源的
多肽。消化膜含有固定的
蛋白酶(如胰
蛋白酶),在电印迹过程中可将电印迹蛋白质裂解为片段,酶裂解能力强,效率高,
多肽只需通过消化膜一次即可。肽片段被收集到复合捕获膜上,该膜经过
化学处理,例如加入
硝酸纤维素和 MALDI 基质的混合物,以吸收表面附近的肽,从而提高后续 MALDI-TOF 质谱分析的灵敏度。在一种应用中,在电印迹和消化之前用含有稳定重同位素组合的试剂标记蛋白质,可在一次操作中对两个或多个样品中的蛋白质表达进行相对定量。在另一种应用中,含有分离
多肽的凝胶由组织样本或组织样本印迹代替。然后将组织样本中的
多肽通过消化膜电印迹到捕获膜上,根据质谱鉴定的蛋白质对组织进行成像。