| TECHNOLOGY |
Developing biomimetic reagents to cleave proteins selectively in the gas phase prior to sequencing them by MS. The goal is to be able to characterize proteins in the gas phase using MS without having to first use a solution-phase process like tryptic digestion to cut them into manageable fragments The researchers have designed a number of reagents that bind to specific sites on proteins & then induce cleavage at or adjacent to those sites. For example the ligand 18-crown-6 ether forms noncovalent complexes with proteins by binding to lysine residues with high specificity, while the larger 30-crown-10 ether pref binds to arginine even in the presence of lysine. Such ligands can be converted into “lariat ethers” – crown ethers with attached acidic groups capable of attacking the protein at or near the binding site. But the energy required to cleave the protein is generally greater than the binding energy of the ligand-protein complex. So when the ligand tries to induce cleavage, it ends up falling off the protein instead of cutting it. Researchers recently prepd lariat ethers contg 2 crown ethers with cleaving agent in between, & some of these cut proteins successfully. Once the techno logy matures, authors hope it can be used to facilitate protein sequencing & to achieve selective recognition of functional protein motifs |
| UPDATE | 04.02 |
| AUTHOR | This data is not available for free |
| LITERATURE REF. | This data is not available for free |
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